Figures
by loveattack2021
Summary: He hated rich people.And sadly, the Evans portrayed the kind of rich trait Troy hated. Call him a racist, he wouldn’t mind, for it is true. Troypay. And other minor pairings.
1. Chapter 1

"Ms. Evans? Ms. Evans?" A female with a British accent, shook her sleeping figure gently.

She shook ever so slightly, and after a matter of seconds, she stretched. "Good Morning, Dorota" She greeted.

Dorota has been her nanny since she was 9 years old. They had a very special bond; she was like her parent, since her real parents were in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is where she will be spending the whole school year.

"Miss Sharpay, I suggest you get some food in your system before we head to the airport" Dorota said as she pushed aside the curtains of her window. The light brightened the room, and the light casted a silhouette over her figure.

"Sure, sure," she replied. She wasn't paying any attention at all, actually. Sharpay was always the perfectionist but the clumsiest among the three siblings. Her twin brother, Ryan, lived with her ever since, he just took an earlier flight date than hers. And then, there was Alexandra, her older sister, she was always the perfect one, but she never tries. Alexandra was the main source of reason of why she acted like this; always prim and proper, putting on a perfect façade, the drinking, etc.

"Darling, the travelling time from Italy to America is exceptionally long. You have to eat." Dorota begged.

Sharpay had a secret. She was bulimic. Only Ryan and Dorota knew this, not even her parents or Alexandra knew. She was struggling to be the sexiest girl everyone has ever seen. Well, at least, sexier than they thought Alexandra was. She didn't want to go back to Albuquerque; it was hot, dry and dull.

"Ok, fine." Sharpay gave in. she put on her Victoria's Secret chiffon robe and walked down her and Ryan's marble staircase.

"So what's for breakfast?" Sharpay asked dully. She never really did care, she'll just vomit it out later anyway.

"Well… I made you your favorite Ham and Cheese Croissant. With milk and tea as your beverage" Dorota answered as she placed Sharpay's plate in front of her.

"_Yum_" Sharpay said unenthusiastically. She grabbed the croissant and took a big bite, she continued to eat normally until she finished the plate.

"Wonderful. You know, Sharpay, if you keep this up, you have a big chance of recovering from your disorder." Dorota said with pride. Dorota loved Sharpay like her own daughter and when she found out about her eating disorder, it truly broke her heart.

"Yeah," Sharpay said with a dead voice. She stood up and handed her plate to Dorota.

"I think I'm just going to go upstairs… to get ready." Sharpay smiled. Dorota did the same

"Alright; just don't take too long, alright?" Dorota reminded her as she lifted the tray

"Yes" Sharpay said quickly as she darted to the stairs and to her bathroom. She carefully chose one of her dresses that would steal everyone's eyes. She found one, it was a dark blue, long sleeved dress that fell to her knees. She already saw herself in it. But, before anything else, she had to commit her crime.

She walked carefully towards the sink of her BIG bathroom; she gave herself a disparaging look on the mirror before sticking her finger down her throat. She felt it coming, she ducked her head and held her hair in place, then she started vomiting what she just ate.

She walked down her stairs looking like a beauty queen. She wore her dark blue dress with her strappy silver stiletto heels; her hair was down with ringlets, she wore light make up but she still looked dashing, she wore two big silver loops for earrings and bracelets and rings on both hands.

Dorota smiled at her, "Beautiful, Miss, just beautiful" Dorota admired. Sharpay gave her a smile

"Thank you, Dorota, shall we?" She asked, motioning her head towards the door.

"Oh, yes, of course" Dorota said as she called her butler, security guards, housekeepers and driver over to help carry all her luggage. She smiled at her staff and said "Thank you so much for the service, I'll see you all next year". They all smiled back to her and nodded. Sharpay walked to her limo, and there, she caught her last glimpse of her own home.

--

In Albuquerque

"Hey! You cannot believe it! I just saw a limo at the driveway of the Evans' mansion! Do you know what that means?!" Gabriella said with excitement, her girl friends seemed to be interested by this, but not the boys.

"What? That Alexandra just finished her shopping spree?" Chad asked sarcastically, the boys sneered.

It wasn't a surprise that a limo, or a very expensive sports car will be spotted in front of their mansion, they are the Evans family after all. You would see different great cars in there. If only they didn't have a million bodyguards, probably the whole town will try to rob their home.

Taylor smacked Chad in the head, "What?! You have to admit, they are filthy rich" Chad said in his defense.

"Can you guys just hear me out for a sec?" Gabriella almost screamed. Everyone looked at her.

She took a deep breath, "Thank you, now, as I was saying, I saw a limo in front of their mansion, and there was this blonde girl, and it wasn't Alexandra. The girl had millions of luggage with her. Do you know what this means?" Gabriella asked

They all stared at her blankly but then Taylor caught on.

"Oh My! Alexandra's sister is moving here!" Taylor shrieked.

Gabriella beamed. "You got it!"

Troy spun the basketball in his hand. "Alexandra has a sister?" He asked. Everyone was shocked to hear this, too. But they were even more surprised about Gabriella and Taylor actually knowing these things about Alexandra.

"Yes. Her ex-boyfriend spilled on her life during an interview for the school paper." Gabriella said, as a- matter-of-factly.

"And you said that her sister is moving here. Do you know where she was last addressed?" Kelsi asked.

"Her boyfriend said Alexandra's younger sister _and_ brother lives in Italy together. They're twins, by the way." Taylor informed them.

"Whoa… this is a lot of take in. I knew she had younger siblings who lived somewhere else but I never thought they were twins, and I never thought that they lived in Italy… I mean, hello, it's Italy!" Chad mused.

"Dude, they're probably just like Alexandra… y'know, snobby, mean, selfish, tenacious… or maybe even worse." Troy warned them.

Gabriella huffed. "Troy, we all hate Alexandra but what is it exactly about her that you hate so much? We can be a bit optimistic about her life but you… you don't care. Or at least you don't want to know…" she said. Gabriella was always known to paying attention and Troy was like an open book.

"Nothing. I just… hate the Evans. _All_ of them." Troy stated.

He hated rich people. They were always stuck up and mean. They always thought they were the best and the more important race. Well, Troy didn't think so… he despised them.

And sadly, the Evans portrayed the kind of rich trait Troy hated. Call him a racist, he wouldn't mind, for it is true.

A/N: Please review! This is my first multi-chapter story. Please support me! I'll try to upload a lot often :D


	2. Chapter 2

"Do I have to go to school with _her?_" Sharpay asked her parents during dinner.

"There is only one high school near our home… the other schools are very far from where we are rooted" Their mother, Derby, answered.

"But it's _public._" Sharpay whined.

"Suck it up, doll face. You're not the only one who despises this! I was the one and only Evans in East High. Now, I have to share it with you _two._" Alexandra snapped. Ryan's eyes turned to Alexandra. He was in Sharpay's side, he actually hated Alexandra too, but he decided to leave the bickering to Sharpay. He'll just be her back up on this.

"Oh great! People will expect me to be like you! That is such an insult already." Sharpay murmured. But this was still heard by the whole family. Ryan chuckled, Derby and Vance waited impatiently for their bickering to stop, while Alexandra was flaming red.

"Well, if you hate me so much then why did you decide to come here when you could've stayed in your _beautiful Italy_" Alexandra spat

Vance felt this was the right time to stop their bickering for the words mentioned by Alexandra could bring a lot of problems and make them argue even more.

"Enough, you two. Alexandra, Sharpay and Ryan are to stay here whether they or you like it or not. Sharpay, you and Ryan are to study in Alexandra's High School with no more or one grumble. Am I clear?" Vance Evans interrupted.

"Yes" The three of them said in dead voices unison.

"Good. Now, eat your dinner." Vance dismissed.

--A few hours later—

Sharpay was wearing her white sleeping dress and her chiffon robe, she was sitting on the edge of her window as she looked at the stars. She thought of how her life would be like, who would she meet, will she even have friends other than Ryan?

Her train of thoughts was interrupted by a knock on the door.

It was Ryan. Sharpay always loved Ryan; he was always there for her. In here and in Italy, they were truly a package deal. And as far as she could remember, he always sided with her whenever she and Alexandra fought.

"Come in, Ry." Sharpay said with a smile.

"So… how do you like New Mexico so far?" He asked as he flopped down her bed.

Sharpay shrugged.

"I'm guessing you came here to ask me if you can drive tomorrow, am I right?" She said with a grin. Ryan laughed.

"Yeah. I did. Sort of."He answered as he caught the car keys that Sharpay threw to him.

"It's okay. I don't wanna drive anyway." She said as she sat beside him on her bed.

"Well, actually, I also came here to make you feel a bit better… I know you are handling a lot these days. I mean, what with Alexandra being around, also our parents… and your condition…" Ryan trailed.

Sharpay sighed. "I'm fine, Ry. Just… trying to juggle it all together, y'know."

"Just tell me when things get out of hand for you, alright? Ryan asked.

"Yeah, I will." Sharpay answered.

"Hey, which reminds me… do you still…?" Ryan trailed

"Yes, Ryan, I still stick my finger down my throat." She answered simply.

Ryan sighed. "Oh… well, just promise me that you'd come to me, alright?" He said, opening his arms wide for her

Sharpay smiled, "Yes, I promise…" She answered as she embraced her brother.

"Well, I better get to bed… Um… wear what color tomorrow?" Ryan asked.

Sharpay and Ryan always had this matching-colored outfit's thing going on, ever since First Grade. It was something they enjoyed doing, it was fun and it attracts people's attention.

"I'm thinking… White with Black, or Gray?"

"I vote for gray." Ryan answered. Sharpay smiled. "Then gray it is."

"Thanks. Night, Sharpie" Ryan said as he left her room.

She lay down her bed, completely staring at the ceiling for another hour when suddenly a knock broke through the door. Sharpay sighed "Come in."

It was her mother this time; she was wearing her silk pajamas under a Victoria's Secret Silk robe.

"Hey there, pumpkin"

"Hi Mom," Sharpay replied with a smile as she sat up and came face to face with her mother

"Sharpay, I know you aren't so happy with moving here…" Derby trailed off

"Mom, it doesn't matter anymore, I'm here and I'll stay. Even if my wicked witch sister ruins it all for me, I'll stay. I'm doing this for you and dad, and I'm taking a chance here…" Sharpay said

Derby's smile got even wider, "Oh Sharpay, you have grown into a very strong woman like what I intended when I raised you…" Derby said with pride. She tucked some of Sharpay's side bangs behind her ear, "I'm glad that you and Ryan came, I really am. Same goes with your father… we just wanted us to have a whole year together as a family this time." Derby said

"And we can't have that when me and Ryan are a million miles away in Italy, huh?" Sharpay said with a smile.

"You got that right." Derby said with a grin. "I love you so much, Sharpay."

Sharpay smiled, "I love you too, mom" She replied.

Derby kissed her forehead before saying, "It's getting late, you should get to bed, it's your first day in your new school. You have to get up earlier in here than in Italy. But don't worry about it, Dear, I've informed Dorota and she will comply with the instructions I gave her."

"Yeah, ok." Sharpay replied as she shook off her robe and got under the sheets.

"Goodnight, sweetheart." Derby said as she turned the lights off.

"Goodnight, mom." Sharpay replied with a yawn.

Then Derby closed the door and walked back to her room where she and her husband slept.

--The next morning—

"Miss, it's the time to wake up" She heard Dorota say.

She shook ever so slightly then stretched.

"Good morning, Dorota" She replied as she got up and put on her robe while Dorota opened the curtain bringing light to her room.

"You shall go downstairs now, miss. Your brother and you parents are waiting for you for breakfast." Dorota said

"Oh, ok." Sharpay replied with a smile as she walked down her family's HUGE marble staircase.

When she got there, everyone was already seated. Well, except for one.

Alexandra wasn't there.

"Morning, everyone" Sharpay said as she eyed her sister's chair.

"Good Morning, Sharpay" They all said in unison.

"Where's…?" She asked

"She took off early, she said she and her boyfriend are going to eat in Starbucks or something…" Ryan said as he chewed his cereal.

"Ryan, dear, don't talk when your mouth is full." Derby said with a smile

Ryan swallowed. "Oh, right, sorry" He said. His mother gave him a smile.

Sharpay took a seat and decided to eat. She expected herself to eat a little and then commit her crime, but she decided to eat normally for once. She felt guilty. Everyone is _this_ family-minus Alexandra- was so happy, she couldn't dare let them down.

She ate her cereal willingly. The morning was great, they all chatted like a real family.

After breakfast, Sharpay and Ryan went upstairs to change, when they finished they saw each other in the corridor of their second floor.

Sharpay was wearing black pants and a gray long sleeve shirt that embraced her curvy figure, along with it she carried a gray handbag and wore high heels; her make-up was light, she wore pearl earrings and some rings on her hands.

While Ryan was wearing black slacks, a gray shirt and a gray vest with the different shades of gray arranged in big diamond shapes-which embraced his well built chest. He wore his black leather Italian shoes and had his black messenger bag wrapped around his torso and hip. And of course, he wore a gray hat.

As they marched down their huge marble staircase, their parents were downstairs waiting for them to come down.

Derby and Vance beamed as they saw their twins looking like the twins they really are. They both looked dashing.

"You both look very stunning." Derby mused.

"Thank you" they both said in unison. The differences between the pitches of their voices were very apparent; Soprano and Bass.

"Well, we just wanted to wish both of you good luck. But it seems like you two don't need it" Vance said. The twins chuckled.

"Well, you two should get to school…" Derby said, her eyes brighten all of a sudden and her smile was expectant.

"…And to get there, we… hooked you up with a new ride." Vance said with a proud smirk on his face.

The two twins gasped and tackled their parents with a big bear hug.

"Thank you so much! You guys rock!" Sharpay said as she stepped back.

"Well, consider it as… your welcome home present. Come on, check it out" Vance said as he walked to the front yard, with his family trailing close behind.

The car that greeted them could make a guy cry.

It was a black Porsche. The windows were tainted as black as possible. For security purposes.

"Oh Gosh! Dad this is… this is perfect!" Ryan said as he walked towards it.

"Yeah, I thought so… I thought that you two could share it for a couple of months or weeks, then I might get Sharpay her own so you can keep this for yourself." Vance said

Sharpay and Ryan shared a look.

"Daddy, you don't need to get me a car. I so totally don't mind sharing with Ryan. I mean, we shared the same womb so I don't think sharing a car is that bad. And, I don't drive that much anyway, so buying me a car is not necessary." Sharpay said with a smile.

"Well, ok, if that's what makes you happy then I won't object." Vance said with a smile. He looked at his wristwatch and looked at the two.

"It's getting a bit late. You two should go to school." Vance said as he threw the key to Ryan, who caught it slyly.

"Gladly; We'll see you later" Ryan said as he embraced his parents once more before getting to the driver's side.

Sharpay hugged her parents after Ryan and got to the passenger side of the car.

When the engine was ready, Ryan shifted the gear and honked twice before driving off.

The car ride felt good, it was as if the wheels were just gliding on the cemented ground. It was quiet and dark inside the car, even if it was so bright outside-thanks to the super tinted windows.

All of their cars were like this. It always had to be tinted dark for they are the Evans after all.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The school parking lot was crowded with excited and curious students. The word about Alexandra's siblings spread around the whole student body- thanks to Gabriella and Taylor.

Some students decided to play cool. Some pretended to read books, but their eyes frequently shot glances at the empty parking space beside Alexandra's car.

The gang was seated on the back of Troy's truck. Troy fiddled with his keys, waiting for it to be over.

"I can't wait to finally see them! They must be so very good-looking. Do you think they're blonde too? Do they have piercings? Uugh! What's taking them so long?" Gabriella talked to no one.

Troy sighed.

Then suddenly, the hushed voices of the other students suddenly got louder, they looked up and saw a black Porsche drive in. Troy couldn't help but stare- No, Glare.

The black car parked beside Alexandra's car. Everyone started to shut up already, not wanting to get snapped at by Alexandra or the twins.

The doors opened simultaneously and out came two beautiful and god-like twins.

Everyone stared, even Troy. Alexandra stepped out of the crowd and came face to face with her twins.

Sharpay and Ryan stopped in front of her.

"Wow. The Evans collide… very dramatic" Chad observed. Troy chuckled.

"Listen, freaks, this is my turf. And I'm giving you a warning, stay away from me and my people and don't steal my light. Is that clear?" Alexandra whispered.

"As clear as your knowledge is…its very translucent due to its emptiness" Sharpay replied with a smirk. Ryan chuckled.

Alexandra scowled at them and took off. Sharpay and Ryan shared a look before walking inside.

"Whoa… did Alexandra just scowl at her own siblings?" Kelsi wondered, amusement clear in her eyes.

"Well, she _is_ Alexandra Evans, after all." Chad shrugged and everyone agreed.

--

Sharpay wandered the halls alone, searching for her locker. She and Ryan had separated lockers.

When she had found her locker, she immediately put her books in. She looked at the scene behind her. She saw a group of students looking at her, once they had an eye to eye contact, she immediately looked away. She gathered her books and took a deep breath.

'_I am an Evans girl. I shouldn't shy away from them. _They _should shy away from me._' Sharpay thought. Then, she straightened her back, shut her locker close and strutted her way to her first class.

When she arrived, the class was filed with voices of students, but from the moment they saw her, the whole class immediately went silent and all eyes were on her.

She blushed in deep scarlet and walked over to her homeroom teacher, Miss Darbus- it said so in her Identification Card. She looks experienced with theater, someone she could completely relate with.

As she gave her slip for her to sign, Ms. Darbus looked at her with pride.

"It's-an-honor-to-have-you-hear-in-my-class, Miss-Sharpay-Evans" Miss Darbus said. It was as if she was talking to someone who has mental problems.

Miss Darbus must've thought Sharpay didn't understand English, after all, the word that she grew up in Italy spread and some people, like Ms. Darbus, thought that she was never introduced to the American culture and the English language.

Ms. Darbus was very excited to teach Sharpay. Italy is a very beautiful place to be raised and Europe contributed much to the World of Theater and she felt deep respect to her, judging from the family she belongs to and her sophisticated and classy way of living. She also heard that she was a fan of theatrical activities so Ms. Darbus is just overwhelmed. She always wished of teaching students like Sharpay, but instead, she teaches the exact opposite.

Sharpay raised her eyebrow and some students chuckled.

"Um… thank you" Sharpay replied in a confused tone

Ms. Darbus realized her mistake quickly and straightened up

"Oh, dear, I am truly sorry, please forgive my oversight." Darbus said as he grabbed Sharpay's shoulder and gently turned her to face the class, everyone was looking, of course.

Sharpay just nodded once.

"Now, take a seat here, Miss Evans." Ms. Darbus said as she escorted her to the center seat of the first row.

"But, that's my seat." Troy complained from the back of the classroom.

"Well, if only you sat in your _proper seats_, then I wouldn't have given the seat to Ms. Evans, now, am I right?" Ms. Darbus snapped at Troy.

"But… well… then, where the hell am I gonna sit?" Troy said, completely outraged.

"At the very back, Mr. Bolton," Ms. Darbus said.

Sharpay stole a glance from behind her thick hair at Troy's face, he was glaring at her with flaming eyes full of hate and annoyance.

But aside from that, Sharpay also noticed other things: The way his blue eyes sparkled and looked like they were glowing with crystals and gems, His sandy brown hair that looked neat and casual at the same time, his deep and masculine voice, his brawny arms, his tan shade, and his tall nose…

Sharpay looked away once she realized she was staring in interest. The guy hated her, and it seems like she _will_ too.

Ms. Darbus called the class to order and she began discussing the importance of Shakespeare.

The students groan, this was probably the _millionth time she discussed this_. And Sharpay, being raised in Italy, always had this type of class as a major subject. Miss Darbus went on with the discussion; Sharpay listened intently while the others weren't. Some were doodling, some were secretly texting, some were asleep, and some were passing notes.

Sharpay had also noticed the basketball on the hands of the guy with an afro, and he seems like he is best friends with Troy. And that brought up more questions.

The day went on and on but when the bell rang calling lunch, the students rushed away from their classrooms and quickly filled the corridors.

Sharpay opened her locker and placed her books in her locker before meeting up with Ryan for lunch; suddenly, a girl with brown curly hair walked over to her.

"Hi," Gabriella greeted with a smile.

"Hi," Sharpay replied with a smile, Sharpay thought she was very sweet and welcoming, she liked her immediately.

"My name's Gabriella Montez. I just wanted to welcome you to East High." Gabriella said

"Thank you, I'm Sharpay Evans," Sharpay informed her.

Gabriella giggled, "Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to sit with us during lunch?" she offered.

Gabriella really did like Sharpay, not because she was rich and all that, but because she felt a good vibe around her and she really felt like Sharpay is truly fun to be with.

"Us?" Sharpay wondered.

"Oh. Me and my friends." Gabriella answered. Then, two girls walked over as if they were called.

"Hi, I'm Taylor." Taylor introduced herself

"And I'm Kelsi, it's very nice to meet you" Kelsi greeted.

They liked Sharpay and Ryan. The only one they hated was Alexandra, and it was pretty obvious for them that Sharpay and Ryan are also against Alexandra. They always thought they were friendly, so they took their chance and discovered it was a chance worth taking.

"Hi. I'm Sharpay. It's nice to meet you all, too." She replied with a sweet smile.

"So… what do you say? Wanna have lunch with us?" Gabriella asked again.

"Uh… sure, but I think I need to tell my brother." Sharpay said.

"Oh, that's cool. You can bring him along if you like, we'd love to meet him, too" Gabriella said

Taylor and Kelsi chorused with "Yeah"s.

"Oh okay, thanks. He should be here any mome-" Sharpay was cut off by the sight of his brother walking over.

"Hey, Shar, are you ready for lunch?" Ryan asked. He was curious about the three girls near her locker but he figured that she'll tell her anyway

"Yeah. Umm… listen, these girls, Gabriella, Taylor and Kelsi, invited us to sit with them." Sharpay said

Ryan raised his eyebrows and eventually, they fell back in place.

"Oh, thank you, I'm Ryan, by the way" He introduced himself.

"And I'm Gabriella, this is Taylor and Kelsi" Gabriella said as she pointed at her friends for introduction.

"It's nice to meet you, Ryan" Taylor said with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you, too. Shall we?" Ryan asked

"We shall." Kelsi agreed and then they walked off to the cafeteria. Many eyes were on them, of course.

When they reached their table, Ryan offered to get their lunches for them and Gabriella, and Kelsi offered to help him.

While they bought the food, Sharpay and Taylor had a short chat.

"So, how do you like East High so far?" Taylor asked

"A lot better, thanks to you guys." Sharpay said shyly

"Oh Yeah, I heard about what happened during your class with Ms. Darbus; I bet she was all over you, wasn't she? She was awaiting your arrival, you know." Taylor said with a smirk.

"Yeah, it was really embarrassing. And I guess it's pretty…cool? That she was waiting for me, I mean." Sharpay replied.

Suddenly, Sharpay noticed a group of boys-Basketball players, as it seems- walked over to them, the guy with an afro hugged Taylor from behind her. She was surprised but then she thought that maybe they were a thing. All the boys started filling the table.

'_Now I get why Gabriella chose the biggest table in the cafeteria. We're or they're a huge crowd.'_ Sharpay thought.

She then noticed the pair of blue eyes again. He looked a lot calmer and happier, this was so different from the way he looked during homeroom. But then, she noticed it was so because he hadn't seen her yet. She guessed the rest of the boys haven't as well. She wanted it to be like this for a while, at least until Gabriella arrives- She doesn't know why, but she suddenly feels a deep connection with Gabriella already.

Sadly, luck wasn't on her side, the blue eyes that she was looking at with nervousness suddenly met her gaze, she quickly looked away and slowly stole a glance; he was annoyed again, the happiness she witnessed was gone.

A little later, all the boys found out she was sitting there. They pretended like they didn't care but she always felt like she was being watched. And finally, after what it seemed like forever, Gabriella, Kelsi, and Ryan arrived with their lunches. They introduced the twins to the guys like they did in the halls.

Ryan was all cheery and happy while Sharpay shied away. Gabriella and the others introduced each of their guy friends to the twins.

Sharpay remembered all of them; there was Chad, Jason, Zeke, and Troy.

Troy.

His name kept repeating over and over in Sharpay's head. But, she ended it by a feeling of irritation.

'_What could've I done to make him hate me? And why the hell would he hate me when he didn't speak to me? The whole seats thing was Ms. Darbus' choice, not mine!' _Sharpay thought. She immediately returned the hate he felt. And she felt giddy about that… In a strange way

**A/N: Third Chapter up! Please review. They make me feel happy and they encourage me to continue and make it better. Pretty please! :D Thanks! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Watch out for the next one ******

**~LA2021**


	4. Chapter 4

--The following night—

Sharpay was already in her sleeping clothes, covered by her robe. She performed her usual activity at night- sitting by the window and staring at the stars or reading a book. In her present case, it was reading a book.

She started reading _Pride and Prejudice_. Miss Darbus had required her and the whole class to read it.

She tried to focus on the book but her mind was used as a ball in a catch game; it's in this side and then it's suddenly on the other.

She thought of her new friends, her school, the teachers, and Troy.

Troy.

It rang again. Sharpay felt sudden irritation and slammed the book shut. She carelessly dropped the book on her desk. She let herself collapse to her bed. She stared at the ceiling, letting the song of the evening sing inside her head; the sound of the wind passing through the leaves of the trees, the cicadas and the crickets.

She dozed off to sleep in an instant.

--The next morning—

Sharpay got up and walked down to the dining room. Everyone was there. And that includes Alexandra.

She sat in her usual seat, beside Ryan. Their parents talked about the never ending accomplishments they make in their companies.

Derby Evans used to be a very famous supermodel; she was like the Tyra Banks during the 80's. But after she got pregnant with Alexandra, she quit the modeling career and started a new business; it's still in the field of fashion, of course. She started a new fashion clothing line. It was named after her surname before she was married to Vance Evans. We know this famous, expensive, classy, and glamorous line today as VALENTINO. Sharpay, Ryan and Alexandra really did get their Italian blood from Derby and they got their American blood for Vance.

Vance, on the other hand, is the CEO of transportation distribution. His company is the one who distributes Airplanes, Limos, Yachts, etc. to companies who ask for it. The _EVANS_ Transportation Company is one of the best distributors and the most exclusive. The airplanes that are being sold at the Evans Transportation Company are the ones used for first class flights. Vance Evans was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Their parents kept babbling on and on about their business. Sharpay heard her mom say she is planning to add another line… while her father told her mother that a royal family actually ordered a yacht for their family vacation… it was nice to know how successful they currently were, but it was just extremely boring.

Suddenly, after what seemed like forever, they decided to stop talking business and started to talk to their kids.

"So, how was school yesterday?" Vance asked his children.

"Great. We made a lot of friends." Ryan said with a smile.

"Fantastic. Do we know them?" Derby asked

"I don't think so…" Ryan replied

Sharpay stared at her food. She slowly picked very tiny pieces up and popped it into her mouth.

"Well, why not you invite them over this weekend? You guys can have a slumber party. The guest house is vacant at the moment…" Derby suggested.

"What?! Mom, no! Please, no! Don't let their friends contaminate the house!" Alexandra begged with a sour, disgusted face.

"Oh please! The only thing that contaminates the house here is you!" Sharpay snapped back.

"Really? I'm the one who contaminates this place? Well, what do you call you two?! You just arrive here and suddenly think you own the place! And not to mention, steal everything I have at school!" Alexandra yelled back

"I am not trying to steal away the hatred people feel for you" Sharpay said softly.

Alexandra gasped, "They so don't hate me!" Alexandra defended herself

"You two, I love you both, but stop it already! I've had enough of your bickering. Ever since the day the twins got here, whenever you two see each other, it's either your yelling at each other or trying to wear your old man down… enough please." Vance said calmly

"Sorry, daddy" The sisters said dully.

Ryan chuckled.

Derby sighed and then smiled again, "Now, as I was saying, the slumber party would be a great idea for me and your father to know them. And, if Alexandra doesn't like to have them around, you children could all just stay in the guest house." Derby suggested.

"Well, I don't want to have them here." Alexandra said

"Then guest house it is!" Derby said.

"That sounds great! I'll go ask them today." Ryan replied.

--In School—

The gang was sitting in their usual place in the morning- In the back of Troy's truck. They were waiting for the twins to arrive, which probably won't take long since Ryan loves driving fast and they have a very fancy car.

A few minutes later, the Black Porsche parked beside Troy's truck. Everyone beamed. They all like Sharpay and Ryan, now. Well, all except one.

"Hey guys!" Ryan cheerfully greeted.

Ryan wore slacks, a navy blue polo shirt and a navy blue hat.

Sharpay, on the other hand, wore black skinny jeans, a navy blue dress shirt that fell to her thigh, and silver heels.

"Hey" They replied simultaneously

"Wow, Shar, you look amazing!" Gabriella commented as her eyes scanned her outfit.

"Thanks, Gabriella, you look amazing, too. I love your outfit" Sharpay commented her back.

Gabriella was wearing a yellow, strapless shirt that fell to her thigh and faded jeans with yellow doll shoes

"Thanks. And I told you to call me Gabby." She said with a smile,

"Oh right, sorry" Sharpay said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Anyway, are you guys available this weekend?" Ryan asked.

"Well, we're open to new suggestions. Why? Got something in mind?" Chad asked.

Troy secretly glared at his friend. Why is he actually acknowledging spending a weekend with these two?!

"Well, our mom suggested that all of you sleep over this weekend. Ya'll up for it?" Ryan asked them

"Oh gosh, we'd love to, Ryan!" Taylor said

"Yeah, we're in!" Chad said.

Now, Troy was furious at _his_ friends.

"Fantastic! Be there at around 7 o'clock, 'kay?" Ryan said

"Yeah" they all said.

Then the bell rang.

--During Study Hall—

Sharpay was looking around in the campus, she explored around and searched for something that could get her attention for a while. She saw a staircase that led into an open place full of plants- as it seems.

She deliberated whether to go up or not, but she decided to go anyway, how could it hurt?

--

Troy heard clicking footsteps coming from below the staircase; he ignored it and continued to stare at the Mountain View.

The footsteps sounded like it was near but it didn't sound like it was walking towards him. He turned his head around and saw a specific blonde girl looking around. She didn't seem to have seen him at all, for she was looking around the plants without even stealing a glance in his direction.

He watched her intently, trying to put the pieces of his mind together. He knows he should be outraged and he knows that he should yell at her to make her stay away from his private place, but he didn't. He just watched her. Her graceful steps as she paced around, her hands swinging back and forth while her hair flowed with the wind.

She stopped at the very end of the path she was walking in. She held the railing as she breathed in the fresh mountain air and the site before her.

She looked beautiful. She is beautiful.

Troy quickly turned his head once he noticed that he was staring in interest. He could never admire another rich girl. Not again.

He grabbed his backpack and noiselessly went down the stairs without taking another glance at the girl.

--

"So, are you coming to the slumber party?" Gabriella asked Troy.

"I don't think so. No. Never" Troy replied as he stuffed his backpack with his books

"What? Well, why not?" Gabriella asked.

"Gab, you of all people should know why." Troy replied coldly

"Troy, let it go. That happened years ago. And, Sharpay and Ryan are good people, they're nothing like…" Gabriella reasoned.

"You can't be so sure of that just yet, Gabriella. Look at Alexandra! Sharpay and Ryan are no different. I'm sure of it." Troy cut her off

"No different? Troy, are you blind? Who invited us to their house as friends and not slaves? Who gives compliments in return instead of agreeing? Who thanks us for making them a part of our group even if we don't have the trendiest material objects? And who doesn't think that they are above everyone else and that their just like us?" Gabriella yelled, "I'm sure as hell it's not Alexandra."

Troy was caught off guard by Gabriella's outrage, he took deep breaths and looked her in the eye

"Look, Gabby, I'm just watching my back as strictly as possible this time. I don't want it to happen again…" Troy said with a pained expression.

Gabriella's face softened. She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Troy. I'm your best friend and I just want you to be best friends with them, too. I should've understood you more… but, maybe, you could try to understand me better, too. I like them a lot. Me and Sharpay talk and we have so many similarities than you could ever imagine. They're great people, Troy. Give them a chance." Gabriella said with intent eyes

"Look, I know I should, Gabby. It's just that I don't think I can" Troy slammed his locker door shut and walked away, leaving Gabriella standing there alone.

--Saturday Night—

Sharpay was in her bedroom wearing a pink spaghetti strap dress that fell a few inches above her knee, and her robe. It was still 6:30pm and she didn't want to get dressed before their friends got here.

She looked out her window while she read her book.

Everyone was coming. Even Troy, Chad and Gabriella talked to his parents to let him go. His parents were curious at first but Chad and Gabriella told them about Troy not wanting to go because of the past incident, and they told them that it could help him get over it. So they agreed and ordered Troy to come.

Sharpay wasn't really sure how this was gonna go. A part of her just wanted to sleep and let them have their fun without her. But, she knew her mother, Ryan, and the girls would never allow it.

She continued to read when her brother came in.

"Hey Sharpay!" Ryan said with a smile

Sharpay closed her book and smiled at him,

"Hi Ryan" Sharpay answered formally,

"Why aren't you dressed up yet? I'm sure you won't wear that short dress for everyone to see, right?" Ryan asked as he sat on the edge of the bed

She giggled, "Of course! I'm just gonna get dressed when they arrive, I want to look fresh when they see me"

"Oh..Kay? Uh… good point!" Ryan said with a smile and they laughed together.

Suddenly, Alexandra burst into her room without even knocking.

"Hey, here's your sweater!" Alexandra said as she tossed it to her.

"You took my sweater?" Sharpay asked.

"Yeah" Alexandra said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I told you not to snoop around my room like that! And I also told you not to just take my clothes!" Sharpay slightly yelled.

Alexandra scoffed "Oh whatever! It doesn't matter anyway, I took it off the moment I put it on. It's loose on me. You might wanna cut it low on the carbs. You look bloated up." Alexandra said before she left the room.

Sharpay stared at space with worried eyes.

"Crap." Ryan muttered before he hovered.

He walked to Sharpay's side and held her shoulders.

"Shar, please don't…" Ryan begged

" Please don't what?" Sharpay asked as if she was afraid of what he was about to say even if she knew it.

"You've been doing so good in recovering from bulimia… don't ruin it just because of her! She hates you, remember? She'll say anything to make you feel bad."

"I know that, Ryan. Chill" Sharpay answered dully.

Before Ryan could say another word, the doorbell rang.

"That must be them. I need to change now" Sharpay said, with a still dull voice.

Ryan gave her a disparaging look before going downstairs and answers the door for their friends

Meanwhile, Sharpay looked at herself in her mirror with tears slowly falling down her face.

Sharpay was always sensitive when someone commented about her physical appearance. And calling her fat was just over the top for her.

It has been weeks since she last committed her crime. She was hesitant at first; her brother's words rang in her head: _You've been doing so good in recovering bulimia, don't ruin it…_

Her tears fell rapidly now, what she saw in the mirror made the choice for her.

She took a deep breath. Then, she stuck her finger down her throat, she bent down and held her hair in place as she vomited.

**A/N: Wow! This is probably the longest chapter I've written so far. Yay!~ Please review! :D**

**LA2021~**


	5. Chapter 5

Sharpay looked up and wiped her mouth. She sobbed a bit, then looked at herself in the mirror. She looked the same, but she felt different. Lighter, perhaps.

She shook her head before she washed the tears off of her face and brushed her teeth. She wiped the water off of her face and walked to her closet.

She thought of what Ryan wore. He wore a white sweater and black sweatpants; so she decided to wear her white, long sleeved, evening dress that fell to her knees with a black ribbon on her hair that was used as a head band. She fixed her hair before putting on her slippers and walking downstairs.

She saw all her friends settling their baggage on the luggage cart that will bring their belongings to the guest house where they will stay for the night.

Troy decided to carry his bag instead of setting it down on the cart; it wasn't that he didn't trust the Evans. He just didn't want to. Why would he accept the help from a family, whose race tortured and tormented him?

Before they were able to leave the main housing, Vance, Derby and Alexandra had entered the room with different looks on their faces; Derby, happy and warm; Vance, proud and smug; and Alexandra, sour and impudent.

"Hey, you guys are just in time! We're gonna introduce to you our new friends" Ryan said.

"Oh! How splendid! Go ahead, dear" Derby said

"Well, this is Gabriella and Taylor. They're both members of the Scholastic Decathlon team." Ryan introduced.

"Wow, Decathlon team. Impressive" Vance started, then his gaze turned to Chad and Troy, "And who are these two young men here?" He asked,

"That's Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth. They're both in the Basketball Team. Troy is the captain, and Chad is the co-captain" Ryan introduced again.

"_Also _very impressive; I am truly glad you two had made friends in your first 3 days in town. I'm also very thankful, as well." Derby said

Gabriella smiled at Sharpay who shyly smiled back.

Alexandra chuckled- an abrupt chuckle from Alexandra always meant that she was about to start a scene.

Troy looked at Alexandra then at Sharpay, whose smile turned into a worried frown. He had seen Alexandra hiss at the twins before, and that spread the awful truth of their immoral bickering. Although he did not expect to ever witness their arguments, but his guts told him that he will.

"Decathlon team members… predictable" Alexandra mumbled

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sharpay asked Alexandra with a tough voice

"What do you think I mean, you empty bobble head" Alexandra teased

"I would try to guess but, maybe _you_ don't even know what you mean so… I'll step back" Sharpay shot back

"I so know what I mean!" Alexandra almost yelled,

"Really? Then what?" Sharpay asked again

"That you are two little pests who came back from Italy to ruin everything for me! You think you can ruin my life for me by stealing the lime light which is always focused on me, but you're wrong! I own that light, and you don't, so you get stuck with the top two nerds of the school!" Alexandra yelled.

Gabriella and Taylor felt ashamed. For some reason, the words of Alexandra had opened a small door to the truth. Sharpay was rich, glamorous; she was a girl who deserved to be in the "in" crowd, and Taylor and Gabriella is not the crowd she deserves.

Sharpay scoffed, "When will you finally realize that we don't want anything to do with you in school?! Take the light if it means so much to you! It doesn't matter to me! And Gabriella and Taylor are so much better than the girls you call "friends". At least Gabriella and Taylor have brains and hearts unlike those girls" Sharpay said in a calm voice, but the anger in it was very evident.

Taylor and Gabriella smiled to themselves. Sharpay Evans, super rich and fabulous, chose them over the girls who "rule" the school, it was the nicest thing anyone has ever done to them before. Chad nodded and smiled.

Ryan was proud, of course; while Troy grinned and nodded to himself.

"Girls, enough, we have guests" Derby scolded her daughters.

Derby turned to the gang and said, "We're very sorry for that, kids. Especially Taylor and Gabriella; I'm sure Alexandra did not mean what she had said. Right, dear?" Derby turned to her daughter and gave her a look.

Alexandra scoffed, "Whatever", she said before walking towards their staircase. However, she turned around and looked at Troy and Chad; she waved and winked at them before walking up the stairs.

Chad made a sour face, while Troy grimaced. Memories that haunted him came flooding back into his mind. Chad saw him and patted his back for support.

Derby sighed, "We'll talk to her, now, go ahead to the guest house, everything is prepared. Just call us or the maids when you need something." She said with a smile, slightly pushing Ryan and Sharpay towards the door with their friends walking behind.

--

"Whoa! This place looks amazing!" Chad wooed.

Ryan shrugged, "Thanks", he replied.

Gabriella and Taylor nodded at each other and walked over to Sharpay who was standing in another corner, while looking at a painting.

"Sharpay?" Gabriella said as she touched her shoulder

Sharpay turned around and smiled at them, "Yeah?" she asked

"We wanted to thank you for what you did for us" Taylor said softly with a smile

"Yeah… that was the nicest thing anyone has ever done to us." Gabriella said

Sharpay smiled at them as she says, "It's no problem, guys. I was just telling the truth. And… I wanted to return the favor to you guys"

"What favor?" Taylor asked,

"You were so nice to me when I was just new around. If it weren't for you guys, I would have been a loner." Sharpay explained.

"Sharpay, we like you a lot, we didn't do you a favor." Taylor said,

"Yeah, and I really feel a special bond with you, Shar. I feel like I've known you in years rather than just 3 days" Gabriella added.

"Aww. Thanks, guys. I appreciate it a lot! And, I feel the same way about you guys… and I know you might think I'm just like Alexandra but…" Sharpay started babbling

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! We definitely don't think that!" Taylor said,

"OBVIOUSLY" Gabriella added.

They all laughed,

"Well, thanks, guys!" Sharpay said as she hugged the two girls.

They laughed.

As Troy sat in the couch, he saw, straight ahead, the three girls hugging and laughing.

He didn't really know how he felt; he was not as furious as before, for he had witnessed a different side to Sharpay, but he was also not sure if he was happy.

He covered his face with his hand as he decided to think for a while.

Obviously, Sharpay and Alexandra were different, and they hated each other. He preferred Sharpay than Alexandra. Sharpay was nicer than Alexandra, of course.

When the thought of Alexandra reigned over his mind, all he could think of was the last thing, she waved and winked… at him. The memories could never have been clearer.

He started to stare at thin air.

"Troy? Hello? You there?" Gabriella asked as she moved her hand up and down in front of his face,

Troy snapped out of it, "What?" He asked her

"You were staring at nothing a while ago, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing" He answered plainly.

"If you're sure" Gabriella said as she looked at him with worried eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure" He answered back.

--------

"Sharpay, can I talk to you?" Ryan asked,

"What for?" Sharpay asked,

Gabriella and Taylor looked at him with the same wondering face as Sharpay's.

"You know what." Ryan answered.

Sharpay sighed, "Oh… I see. Excuse us" Sharpay said as they walked to the guest house's garden.

--------

Troy was outside, behind a tree where he leaned his back on, by the pool; he was seated in a stealthy way. He wanted to be alone. He felt stupid. Just like the way he always does whenever his mind returns to that day. He was fiddling a loose hem on his jeans when he heard footsteps coming from behind him.

He took a peek from behind the tree to see Sharpay and Ryan. Sharpay was seated at a pool chair while Ryan was standing.

Sharpay looked nervous and Ryan looked exasperated.

Troy intended to listen.

-------

"Sharpay, I'm really proud of you for standing up for Gabriella and Taylor" Ryan started.

"Thanks" She replied, so softly, she looked so fragile, so… breakable.

"But, what I'm not proud of is your ongoing disobedience." Ryan said,

"What do you mean?" Sharpay asked, she looked up at him, her eyes beginning to water. She knew that he knew.

"What do I mean? Sharpay! I know you know what I mean!" Ryan softly yelled.

There was a long pause before Sharpay could answer, "Oh, that."

"Yes, that! Sharpay! You promised me that you would not do that again. You were getting better, you improving! You were so close to recovering! How could you let Alexandra ruin that?! Can't you just stop?" Ryan asked with begging eyes, but with a roaring voice.

"I'm Bulimic, Ryan! I can't just stop! I've tried so hard to stop sticking my finger down my throat but I just can't, okay? Alexandra just keeps on urging me to…" She swallowed hard, and closing her eyes shut before continuing,

"I've tried, Ryan… I really have" She finished as her tears rolled silently down her cheeks.

"I don't want to see you lying down on a hospital bed with tubes connected to your systems again, Shar. Once is enough. When I found out you stuck your finger down your throat just this afternoon, I saw you in the hospital in my head again. The doctor told me that your digestive system is weak and you need to stop doing this and eat, or else, you'll have to go back." Ryan said in panicked voice.

"I'm sorry, Ryan." Sharpay said softly,

"It's okay. Just… try not to do it again. Promise me. No, not only me, promise Mom and Dad, promise Gabriella and Taylor, and Chad, Troy, and Dorota, and strangely, promise Alexandra… we all care for you. Promise us that you'll try." Ryan said.

"…I promise" Sharpay replied.

"Thank you." Ryan said as he kissed her forehead and wiped away her tears.

"Let's go back inside." Ryan said.

"Okay." Sharpay said as she stood up and clung to Ryan's arm.

"It'll be okay." Ryan soothed as they walked inside.

-----

Troy stepped out of the tree with wide eyes. He couldn't believe in what he had just heard.

Sharpay was bulimic.

**Author's Note: So Troy knows. Wow. That was pretty good. Considering I had a writer's block and I made this up as I went. Yeepee! Sorry this took so long. I've been pretty busy with school and such. I'm actually pretty lucky I got this one finished. Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!**

**With hearts,**

**LA2021 :]**


	6. Chapter 6

(Please read the Author's note right after reading this story :D )

It had been exactly two weeks since the gang's sleepover. Nothing big really happened; all they did was hang out at lunch, go to their corresponding classes, go home, then go back to school and do the same thing all over again.

Troy, ever since the night he found out about Sharpay's secret, had been keeping a close eye on Sharpay. He had noticed how she barely finishes half of her food during lunch, and how she despises every bite she takes of the cafeteria food. He couldn't believe he didn't notice that.

It was lunch hour, students filled the halls and queues began to form in the cafeteria. They were serving lots of alternatives today, _Lunch lady must be in a good mood, _Troy thought.

Chad grabbed almost everything that looked good to him. Troy almost did the same, but not as much as Chad's, Ryan ate the least among the three boys.

The girls stuck with their usual; Salads, desserts, and one serving of junk foods and a cup of juice. Well, Gabriella and Taylor did. Sharpay grabbed a fruit cup, a salad, and a bottle of water.

They sat in their usual round table. Troy sat across Sharpay, and he noticed how casually she ate her fruit cup. She must've felt safe eating this one. Ryan was proud that she was _at least_ trying.

They had finished eating their lunches and are now headed to their lockers.

Troy's locker was about 10 lockers down from Sharpay's. He saw her fix her hair and sigh with a frown, then restart on it again. He wanted to tell her that it was fine, and that she didn't have to worry about it anymore, for she looked beautiful…

Troy shook it off his mind. He did not want anything to do with Sharpay. Especially when he found out about her condition; he pitied her, he was, shockingly, very disappointed, and he also was, to the highest point of shock, was worried and concerned. Inside, although he never admitted it to himself, he wanted to talk to her and hope that maybe he could be of help in helping her recovery.

He shut his locker rather hardly, and very loudly. He, himself, jumped in surprise in the sound he heard and made. He looked at some students, who shot him weird glances, then at Sharpay, only to find her looking at him with curious eyes, then looking away, closing her locker, then leave.

--

It was time for the class that Troy loved the most: PE CLASS. He felt like he was at home. Although, having Sharpay in his PE class was new, he didn't despise it. He was in a rather cheerful mood, maybe he would actually talk to her today.

Strange as it seems, for the first month Sharpay was around, they never actually spoke a word to each other. What makes that strange? Well, what with the numerous group lunches and meetings your friends hold, you are bound to talk, right? These two… don't.

Another thing that made this PE class rather different is the fact that Alexandra was also attending this class. It just so happened that she had to skip her last PE Class, and his dad made her make up for it by attending this class, which period was supposed to be her Study Hall.

She didn't have a choice, nonetheless. You can't turn down the Gym teacher.

Alexandra wore the East High, specially made, sweatpants with the East High, specially made, T-shirt.

Sharpay wore the same thing, except she wore the specially made shorts instead.

Troy couldn't help but notice how small, thin, and breakable-looking her legs were. But he also couldn't notice they were perfectly tan and long.

"Alright kids," Jack Bolton, or, Coach Bolton, said before he blew his whistle. The gymnasium was now silent.

"You'll all be playing Dodge Ball today. Troy, Chad," He called, "Go get the balls in the storage room" He ordered and the two did as they were told.

--

The coach blew his whistle.

The game began.

Troy and Sharpay were in one group, And Alexandra and Chad were in the other.

Troy and Chad both ran towards the center line to get the three balls. Troy passed two balls to two random guys, and kept the other one for him.

The dodge balls were flying over head. Alexandra caught one and looked at Sharpay, whose eyes also landed on hers and saw her looking at her with an impish grin.

"Oh no…" Sharpay muttered before closing her eyes,

Troy, who was busy throwing balls to the other group was caught off guard when he heard Sharpay, who was standing beside him, let out a blood curdling scream, and landed on him.

It just so happened that Alexandra was a very good Volleyball player, It just so happened that she had hit her on her head, and It just so happened that he lost his balance when Sharpay landed on him and they both fell on the hard floor of the gym.

The whole room was silent. Everyone knew they had "issues", no one just knew what kind.

Chad let out a silent chuckle, while Alexandra and some of the girls in her clique laughed aloud.

"Oh my gosh! Sharpay! Are you really that heavy to let the School Basketball Captain, who is supposed to be so strong, fall?" Alexandra taunted, before laughing again. Now, the whole class had to join in their fit of laughter.

Troy looked at Sharpay immediately, only to see her pained face looking at the floor in shame, then at him. He gave her a nod, she looked away.

Troy sighed, and stood up, he felt the need to do this, it didn't make any sense, but that's why he trusted it.

"Would you stop it, Alexandra? I lost my balance, and that was it. Stop messing with her, will you?" Troy said. The whole room looked at him in shock, Jack and Chad looked at each then smiled.

"Come on, Shar." Troy said as he offered his hand, which she shyly took. He pulled her up with ease.

He was surprised with how light she really was. But shook it off quickly. _What do expect?_ Troy told himself mentally.

Then, the coach blew his whistle, resuming the game. Sharpay walked towards the bench, where she sat and watched the game quietly while rubbing her head.

Alexandra was shocked, and furious.

The game went on and on. Troy didn't think that Alexandra would be any harm now, so he focused on other players. But he was wrong. Alexandra grabbed the ball one of her teammates was holding; she worked on her aim, then fired. The ball came right to Troy's face, causing his nose to bleed.

"Oh!! Crap!" Troy cried as he covered his nose.

"Oops! I am so sorry! I so didn't mean to!" Alexandra said sarcastically.

Troy huffed before he walked over to the bench and sat beside Sharpay. No one talked, they just sat there in silence, touching their injured areas.

The coach walked over to them,

"You two should go to the nurse's office. Here, I made you two hall passes." Jack said, handing the passes to Sharpay, since her hands were not covered in blood.

"thank you, sir"

"Yeah, thanks, dad." Troy said before complaining, "Aw, dang, this hurts like hell!"

"Let's go" Sharpay said softly as they walked to the nurse's office

--

The two were stuck inside the office. They had insisted to the nurse that they were fine and should go back to class, but she declined and let them stay until the period ends. So there they were, seated in the lumpy sofa alone since she had to "take a call".

Sharpay hesitated at first, but decided it was the right thing to do.

"Um, Troy?" She whispered softly. She thought he wouldn't have heard her.

"Yes?" He asked,

"I wanted to thank you for sticking up for me" Sharpay said shyly.

"It's no problem… I just thought it was the right thing to do…" He said

Then there was silence again. Awkward silence, actually.

"Well, thank you, nonetheless." Sharpay added suddenly,

"You're welcome" Troy said.

And here comes silence again.

"Is… Alexandra always like that? you know… uh… mean? And…um… vengeful?" He asked pointing to his nose.

Sharpay chuckled, "Yes, she is. I am sorry for your nose, though; she did hit it pretty hard." Sharpay said.

"I've had worse, and I have seen more blood coming out of my body than this, but, they were from men of my size, or bigger… but never from a girl." Troy said with a smile before pressing the ice pack on his nose again.

They didn't understand why they were so nice to each other now. Troy had finally decided to give Sharpay a chance, but he was still watching his back as strictly as possible; he didn't expect it would be this easy to like her. Sharpay, on the other hand, was shocked when Troy stood up for her; she did feel irritated when he would always send her glares, but she softened just now.

"Alexandra isn't really your usual schoolmate, now, is she?" Sharpay asked, with sarcasm.

Troy chuckled, "No, never." He smiled.

Sharpay smiled back before looking at her folded hands.

"It must be tricky being her sister, huh?" Troy asked her intently, although he regretted ever asking it one he saw the change of expression of her face; her eyebrows suddenly furrowed with worry and her arms wrapped around her torso in insecurity.

"What do you mean?" She asked,

Troy thought of a way to change the meaning of his question,

"You know, having to hear her nagging all the time…" He made up. It was pretty good and acceptable, he was glad.

She seemed to have calmed down once she heard what Troy said, "Oh… well, yeah…these weeks with her have been pretty hectic. We bicker a lot. I think my dad's this close," She put her thumb and index finger closer to each other, "to making me move back to Italy" she finished with a smile.

He watched her intently with his glittering blue eyes, "Huh. Well, I hope you won't." He said,

"Really?" she asked disbelievingly,

"Yeah… I mean, I just started to get to know you better. Why is it so hard to believe?" He asked her, although he knew why.

"I don't know… it's just that, the days before today, you've been giving me the impression that you _do_ want me to leave" Sharpay said, her voice getting softer after every word.

Troy grimaced, "Oh. Well, I changed my mind, and I'm glad I did. You're pretty cool to have around after all." He said.

Sharpay smiled, "Thanks, and you too" she said.

Then the bell rung.

"We should get going; the period is over anyway, so maybe we can leave now" Sharpay said,

"Yeah… let's go." Troy said as he opened the door for Sharpay.

They headed to the locker rooms where they would change into their normal clothes.

--

Troy finished up earlier than Sharpay did. He hesitated whether he'd wait for her or he'll just go ahead. But, momma didn't raise any fool; he would be a gentlemen his parents told him to be and wait for Sharpay. He sat on the bleachers and started to wait.

--

45 minutes later, Sharpay came out of the locker room and entered the big gymnasium. She expected that Troy had already left, but when she saw him, on the bleachers, asleep, her expectation died.

She smiled to herself to see Troy, with his face on top of his crossed arms, which were rested on his knees, asleep.

She sat beside him, and gently fixed his hair, which was still slightly wet and were pointed on different directions. She finished and smiled to herself.

_He must've been so tired_, she thought. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, and shook his slightly,

"Troy?" She called,

He slowly raised his head and rubbed his eyes, he looked at Sharpay and gave her an embarrassed smile,

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting," Sharpay said,  
"It's fine." He replied.

Troy stretched and looked at his watch, it read 4:00pm.

"Whoa! It's 4pm, already?" He said with shock,

"Oh! We should hurry before they get impatient…" Sharpay said with guilt,

"Yeah… let's go" He said as he stood up grabbed his bag and ran towards the door with Sharpay behind him.

--

"Hey! Have you seen Troy?" Chad asked them as he _finally_ saw his friends sitting on Troy's truck, which was now always parked beside The Porsche

"No. Have you seen Sharpay?" Ryan asked,

"No…" Chad answered before he remembered the scene during PE class.

"I have something great to tell you!" He said excitedly,

"What?" Gabriella asked,

"Sharpay and Troy are finally friends" Chad said,

All their eyes were wide, and their mouths were all open.

"Are you serious?!!" Gabriella asked, as she jumped off the truck and grabbed Chad's shoulders, then shaking him.

"Yeah, Alexandra was totally mean to her during PE Class, and Troy stood up for her. It was a priceless moment in the history of high school miracles" Chad replied.

"Tell me every detail!" Gabriella said excitedly.

Chad told her everything. Starting from when Alexandra hit Sharpay hard on the head with the dodge ball, and ending with them going to the Nurse's Office together.

Once Chad finished his story, they all had unreadable faces. But you can tell they were all happy about it. Gabriella and Taylor were just about to hover, but then arrived Troy and Sharpay running towards them.

"Guys, we are so sorry! The nurse kept us in until the end of the period and we still had to freshen up… which is why we're late." Troy said as he tried to catch his breath

"Oh, it's alright." Ryan said with a smirk on his face,

"Yeah, we were just talking" Gabriella said

"Really? What about?" Sharpay asked,

"Nothing, hey, do you all want to go for pizza?" Taylor asked,

"Sure!" They all agreed,

"Great! We have so much to celebrate!" Taylor said, Gabriella frowned and gave her a hard look.

"Really? What?" Sharpay asked,

"Oh, you know, the fact that Chad's still in school, the fact that… Troy is still… blue-eyed…and… oh! I just wanna go for pizza, okay?" Taylor laughed, they all did, too.

"No prob, Tay, we'll go. Now, _let's_ go" Chad said as he urged everyone to their respective cars.

Could things get any better than this?

**Author's Note: Hey Guys! Thanks for Reading! I know you are all pleased with the new friendship between Troy and Sharpay. But this is just the beginning of the **_**real**_** "FIGURES". Figures is really a dramatic story, and since they had found their friendship already, the drama is to begin. BE PREPARED! LOL! Thanks again! Please review and watch out for the next chapter!**

**With Hearts,**

**LA2021~**


	7. Chapter 7

"So, are you guys like friends now?" Gabriella asked as she chews her slice of pizza.

Troy and Sharpay looked at each other and shrugged, "I guess." Troy replied

"That's great! Seriously, the tensions you two have been building up these couple of weeks were starting to get creepy." Chad said.

Sharpay and Troy chuckled.

"So, it's almost the weekend! What do you guys wanna do?" Taylor asked,

Ryan and Sharpay looked at each other. "Well, our whole family will be spending the weekend at some beach resort, it's quite far, and we'll ride a plane to get there. You guys wanna come? Alexandra will be there with her friends--" Ryan started but was cut off by Troy.

"Alexandra? Thanks, but no thanks. She practically broke my nose, and I don't intend on getting any other body part get injured." He said sarcastically as he took another bite.

"Aw, come on, guys! Even with Alexandra and her posse, we can still have fun. We'll outnumber her anyway…" Ryan tried to persuade them,

"Ryan, like what Troy said, Alexandra, _alone,_ practically injured him already… imagine what could happen if she has her copy cat crew with her" Chad said being pessimistic.

Ryan sighed. "Curse my older sister for being so cruel," Ryan joked.

"You know, Ryan is right… so who cares if Alexandra is there?" Sharpay asked,

"Whoa! Look who's talking…" Troy teased,

"It could be fun" Sharpay said with a scheming grin on her face,

"What are you thinking?" Taylor asked

"Just the suspense of what will happen if we're there, and they're there, too." She said as she took a bite of her pizza.

Chad seemed to consider, "You're right…" He grew an impish grin,

"Truly, I have no idea what you mean but I'll ride along. Let's go for it!" Gabriella piped up,

"Yeah!" Ryan piped in.

"Fine, but if she breaks my nose again, or any part of my body, I'm filing a restraining order!" Troy teased.

"Great! Be at our place at 5:30 in the morning this Saturday! Or if you like, you can all sleep over at our place instead of going there in the morning" Ryan suggested,

"I'll sleepover." Gabriella said,

"Same here" Taylor said

"We'll all sleepover" Chad said,

Troy sighed and drank his soda.

--

It was Friday, and the wildcats were on their way to the Evans' mansion.

"So, you guys ready?" Ryan asked them.

"Yeah" they all replied,

"Alright, let's go then" Ryan said as he opened the door to the black Porsche.

--

It was 7:30 pm in the Evans' mansion, and the girls were in Sharpay's room.

They were trying some dresses on for their little weekend escapade.

"That color looks really good on you" Sharpay commented as Gabriella tried on one of Sharpay's dresses.

"Thanks." She said,

She was wearing an apple green, floral dress that fell to her knees.

"You should wear it to the beach this weekend" Sharpay said,

"Are you serious? You're gonna let me wear this to the beach?" Gabriella asked with shocked eyes,

"It is a sundress." Sharpay said with confused eyes.

"Yeah, but it's Valentino, won't you be totally freaked out if I damaged this dress?" Gabriella asked,

"Not exactly; I always get clothes from Valentino. Even if they haven't been sold yet, my mom owns Valentino, remember? I get them for free, and I can always ask for another one" Sharpay said as she started to read a magazine.

"Wow. It must be so amazing to live your life" Taylor mused,

"Not really. I mean, it is pretty cool that I get full access on my parents' companies, but aside from that, it's pretty much boring." Sharpay said as she stood up and grabbed a piece of popcorn, and tossed it in her mouth.

"So, anyhow, are you sure I can borrow this dress?" Gabriella asked again,

"You can take it if you want." Sharpay said,

"Aw, thanks, Shar!" Gabriella said as she hugged Sharpay.

"Don't mention it."

Just then, the boys came knocking on her door, she stood up and yanked the door open. There stood three boys.

"Hey, what's up? Is there anything wrong?" Sharpay asked,

"Nothing much; hey, do you mind if we stay here for a while?" Ryan asked, as he stole an annoyed glance at his room.

"Sure, come in" Sharpay said as she opened the door wider and stepping back to make room for them.

Gabriella and Taylor looked up from the magazines they were reading and looked at the boys with curious expressions.

"Thanks for letting us in. I don't think I could've stand another second in my room!" Ryan exclaimed,

"What exactly did happen?" Taylor asked,

"Well, since my room is just across Alexandra's room, we had to bear with hearing hers and her posse's blood curdling babbling." Ryan explained, and the girls chuckled.

"Well, you guys are welcome to sleep here, if you like. I mean, my room is big enough for all of us… and we can just ask Dorota to bring in some mattresses for you guys…" Sharpay offered,

"We'd_ love _that, Thanks" Ryan said.

"Okay then." Sharpay said as she flopped back to her position before the boys came in.

Troy observed her room. It was clearly the first time he's ever been here. Her room was nothing like what he expected. It had a lot of books; it was pink, of course. It also had lots of paintings; one was of a ballerina, another was a field with flowers, and another was of one of the most well known ships in History, the RMS Titanic. He stopped focusing on the paintings and turned his gaze to see the photos of her and Ryan, with her mom and dad, the whole family, with her nanny, and, to his surprise, a picture of them; all of them, which includes, Ryan, Gabriella, Chad, Taylor, Herself, and Himself.

--

It was already 11:00pm, everyone was asleep. The boys slept on the mattresses, while Sharpay, Gabriella, and Taylor all slept in Sharpay's huge bed. Sharpay kept on stirring, she couldn't sleep. She sat up, and saw everyone sleeping. She huffed, then, she came to a decision of going outside for a while.

She carefully stood up from her bed, grabbed a book, and tiptoed all the way until she reached her door.

She sprinted to the garden and sat on one of the pool chairs. She brought out her book and started reading to herself.

"Miss Sharpay?" She heard Dorota say,

She looked up and saw Dorota walking over to her with a concerned face,

"Why are you still here? Should not you be in bed right now?" She asked,

"I couldn't sleep, Dorota… I guess some reading and fresh air would do the trick." Sharpay shrugged,

"Very well; but not too late, miss. You have a lot ahead of you tomorrow" She said as she smiled at Sharpay, who smiled back, then walk off.

--

Troy was lying down, waiting for sleep to dawn over him. He was absently staring at the ceiling, her chandelier, and some of the paintings; anything to capture his eye.

He suddenly saw Sharpay sitting up; he watched her as she carefully rose from her bed, grabbed her book, and tiptoed out of the room. He raised his eyebrow. He deliberated whether to stay where he was or follow her out. He decided to stay, but then decided that talking to Sharpay would be a lot better than staying here whilst hearing the snores of Chad.

He stood up carefully and walked towards the door. But, before reaching the door, his foot stepped on something spherical in shape, his basketball, causing him to fall on his butt.

"Aw, crap!" He whispered. He looked at his sleeping friends to see if he had awakened any one of them. He saw Gabriella and Chad stir and mumble something imperceptible, but they went back to sleep right away. He sighed in relief, then sprinted to the door.

He wondered where Sharpay could have gone; he didn't want to seem rude to anyone who would see him loitering around some other people's house without the acknowledgement of the owner or anyone near that.

"May I help you, sir?" A woman with an accent asked, he turned around and saw a plump woman, with rosy cheeks and brown hair that was kept in place by a hairnet and a small hat. He recognized her as Sharpay's nanny in one of her pictures.

"Oh, umm… I was just looking for Sharpay, have you seen her anywhere?" He asked,

The woman smiled, "Oh yes, let me lead you to her" She said as she started walking.

"Uh, thank you" Troy thanked her with a smile, even though she wasn't looking.

She led him to the pool, he was at first curious of why would Sharpay be here, and was also starting to doubt the woman, but sure enough she was there.

"Miss, someone is here for you" Dorota said, Sharpay looked up, and the shock was evident in her eyes,

"Troy? What are you doing here?" She asked,

Troy shrugged, "I couldn't sleep" He said.

She chuckled.

"Would you two like something to drink? To eat?" Dorota asked them,

Sharpay turned to Troy, "Do you want anything?" She asked,

"Nah, I'm good" He said.

Sharpay returned to Dorota, "We're fine, thank you" She said with a smile,

"If you insist, I'll be at the kitchen if you need anything" She said with a smile. She then walked off, but when she was far away from view, she turned back to look at them again with an ear-to-ear smile.

--

"I thought you were asleep," Sharpay said to Troy,

"Yeah, well, I couldn't. But, I saw you get up, and I decided to come down here with ya, but just so you know, along the process of getting out of your room, I stepped on my stupid Basketball and fell." He said with a smirk.

She laughed quietly, "You never cease to amuse me" She said with a grin planted on her face before shaking her head, then looking back at her book.

"Glad I have that effect on you"

"So, I see you've met Dorota" She said,

"Yeah, she seems really nice. I recognized her from one of your pictures in your room"

"Yeah, well, Dorota is like my mom and dad at the same time when we're in Italy. She takes care of me and Ryan. She's been working with us since I was 6" She told him,

"Wow. I assume you're very attached to her?" He asks

"Very."

There was a pause.

"So, what book are you reading?" He asked, but he kicked himself mentally for asking such question.

Sharpay raised her eyebrows at him, "Pride and Prejudice. Aren't you reading this one, too? We need it for school…"

"Oh, right. Well, I thought you were done with it by now." He said,

"Are you?" She asked

"Absolutely not,"

She giggled.

"So, are you excited for tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah, are you?" He asks,

"Sure, I guess. It could be fun"

"I guess? It could be fun? Why such answers? I thought you would be the most excited among us all," Troy said,

"Well, I have issues." She said with a fake chuckle.

"What issues?" Troy asked as he leaned on the back of the pool chair, he started to gaze at the sky; it had a star cluster showing. It looked beautiful.

Sharpay felt uncomfortable, but Troy seemed oblivious of it. "Nothing big; I'm just not that fond with beaches." She said.

"Hmm." Troy replied, his eyes never leaving the sky.

Sharpay continued reading.

A few minutes had passed by, and Troy looked away from the stars for once to look at Sharpay. She had her nose buried in her book.

"Darn, Shar. You are so boring" He teased.

"Being boring has its own benefits." She replied with a smirk.

"Which are?" he shot back,

"When I finish my book report and get a high grade while you cram and get an F" She snapped with a smile.

He faked a hurt expression. "I am offended. You should apologize to me know"

Sharpay stuck her tongue out at him, and he laughed.

She closed her book shut with a thud sound, then sighed.

"We should get some sleep."

"Yeah" He agreed. They both stood up and walked towards Sharpay's room.

When they got there, they tiptoed to their beds, they laid down and both felt relaxed.

"Night, Troy." Sharpay whispered,

"Night, Shar." Troy whispered back.

Not soon enough, Sharpay heard Troy's soft snores. She chuckled to herself and snuggled her pillow before getting a good night's sleep.

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Watch out for the next chapter, PLEASE REVIEW!**

**With Hearts,**

**LA2021~**


	8. Chapter 8

It was exactly 5:30am when everybody got up, well almost everyone.

"Sharpay, Troy, get up!" Gabriella said as she threw a pillow to Troy.

"Go away." Troy mumbled. Gabriella huffed, and walked over to him.

"Don't make me do this, Troy." Gabriella warned.

"Go away" He mumbled, but with an increase of volume.

Gabriella sighed and shrugged, "I warned you."

Just then, she placed her lips on his cheek. She leaned away, and his eyes snapped open.

"Eww! Gabs, what was that for?" He said as he wiped his cheek.

"I warned you, didn't I? now, get up! Everyone is having breakfast downstairs already." She said as she threw another pillow at him.

He sighed. Ever since they (Chad, Gabriella and Troy) were just kids, Gabriella always had to be the one to wake them up whenever their parents would have an adult party that would last all night. And whenever they won't wake up, she would kiss their cheeks and they would immediately get up. The boys would freak out and washed their faces before Gabriella's "girl cooties" rubbed off on them. But as time flew past, they grew up, and the cooties weren't such a big deal to them anymore; but still, they would wake up immediately.

"Must you always do that to wake me up?" He asked,

"It always worked when we were kids. And besides, would you move an inch if I didn't?" She shot back at him.

"Probably not," He said with a smile and a laugh.

"Now, get up," She ordered before standing up and walked to the side to give Troy some room.

He stood up and stretched, his eyes landed on the bed and saw Sharpay still sleeping.

"Why won't you wake her up?" Troy asked Gabriella with an eyebrow raised and a smirk planted on his lips.

"I've tried, Troy, I've tried. You know, she is almost as stubborn as you are!" She teased,

"Ha, ha." He said sarcastically. Then he walked towards Sharpay with Gabriella following him. Gabriella hovered to her side while Troy stayed on the other.

She shook her gently, "Sharpay? Sharpay?" She cooed.

Her body swayed to the other side groaned, "Go away," she said,

"See what I mean?" Gabriella teased.

"Whatever." Troy said, but then an idea found its way to his brain, "Why not we tickle her until she wakes up?"

"Well, she is very ticklish. Let's give it a go" Gabriella said,

Troy poked one side of her waist, while Gabriella poked the other.

Her eyes suddenly snapped open, "Whoa!" She yelled, and since Gabriella and Troy were too close to her, she accidentally smacked Troy's face with her hand,

"Ow!" He cried as he stumbled backwards, falling off the bed.

"Oh! Troy I am so sorry!" She apologized, she quickly sat up, but in the process her forehead hit Gabriella's.

"Ow!" The two girls winced.

"I am so sorry, guys! It didn't mean to" She apologized as she was rubbing her forehead,

"We know…" Gabriella said as she rubbed her forehead as well.

"It's our fault for leaning too close" Troy said as he massaged the high tips of his nose.

"Yeah. We're sorry for tickling you, too" Gabriella said

"Okay," Sharpay replied simply. They all looked at each other; they were all holding their injured parts simultaneously.

Then they all laughed.

"We should go down now, everyone's waiting" Gabriella said as she started for the door with Troy and Sharpay following her.

--

When the three got down, everyone was already eating breakfast.

"Morning, kids." Derby greeted.

"Morning" They greeted.

"What happened to the three of you?" Vance asked as he noticed how the three were rubbing different parts of their faces.

"Nothing, sir." Troy said as he sat down on a chair next to Chad and Ryan. Gabriella and Sharpay sat next to Taylor.

"If you say so," Vance shrugged.

"So anyway, as I was saying, we should definitely go cruising during the weekend, daddy" Alexandra said with her girly tone,

"Yeah," her posse cooed.

"We'll see what we can do, dear." Vance said.

"Thank you, daddy; Oh! I just can't wait any longer! Our cousins will be there, also our aunts and uncles. And, of course, I can never forget Grandma will be there" Alexandra said, eyeing Sharpay

The gang noticed this small action and looked at Sharpay. She looked very uncomfortable and suddenly worried.

"I just _love it_ when she says that _I'm _her favorite grandchild. I wonder why that is" Alexandra said, obviously aiming daggers on Sharpay.

"Enough, Alexandra; my mother, your grandmother loves all of you three equally." Vance said with a fake smile but the disparaging look on his eyes was evident.

The gang felt the tension in the room.

"Don't seem like it" Alexandra commented.

"Alexandra!" Vance almost yelled

There was silence in the room. "Sorry." Alexandra apologized.

The gang continued eating quietly.

"So, dad, what can we do in the beach where we're going?" Ryan asked, count on him to break the tension.

"Lots of things; you can go surfing, jet skiing, scuba diving, whatever you like" Vance said

"Cool!" Ryan said cheerfully, but it was obvious that he was trying to fill the room with comfortable chatters again.

And, indeed, after that, the room started to fill with chatters again. Thank you, Ryan!

--

When they were at the airport, Sharpay's day started to get ruined. Alexandra and her posse would always 'bully' the girls and sometimes Ryan, but never Troy and Chad. She would often 'accidentally' bump them, causing their luggage to fall. And also 'accidentally' cause them to trip.

When they finally made it to the business class lounge, the girls took a seat with exhausted sighs.

"I swear, if I only had the chance, I would bury that girl alive!" Taylor said with her eyebrows knitted together.

"That would take too much time and work; just throw her in a vat of toxic waste." Gabriella said,

They all laughed.

"So, do you guys want anything? We're gonna raid the food table" Troy asked,

"Water would be nice" Taylor said,

"I want pineapple juice, please" Gabriella said

"Four seasons drink for me" Sharpay said,

"Alright, be back in a bit" Troy said as he stood up and walked over to where the food was with Ryan and Chad following him.

"Isn't Chad so sweet?" Taylor said as she watched Chad fit a whole slice of pizza on his mouth on only one try.

The girls turned their heads to where Taylor was looking and saw the same scene,

"Oh yeah, very sweet" Gabriella said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, he is. He just eats like there's no tomorrow" Taylor said,

"And, like a pig" Sharpay said with a bewildered tone as she saw Chad practically giving a burrito a French kiss.

"That, too; but beyond that, he's sweet." Taylor said,

"I guess." Sharpay said as she shrugged her shoulders and started to read a magazine.

"I think Ryan is sort of sweet. He looks kinda cute, too." Gabriella mumbled shyly,

Sharpay's eyes snapped out of the magazine and into Gabriella,

"Seriously?" Sharpay and Taylor asked with bewildered features.

"Well, yeah, but…Sharpay--" Gabriella said, her voice as soft as a whisper,

"Don't worry, Gabs, I'm not mad or anything, just shocked! When did this happen?" Sharpay asked her with a giddy smile,

Gabriella blushed, "Well, ever since we became friends."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?!" Sharpay and Taylor questioned her with voices so loud.

Troy, Chad, Ryan, and almost everyone in the lounge turned their heads and looked at them with curious eyes.

"Sssssh! Keep it down. I'll tell you, okay? Just keep calm" Gabriella said as she sank in her seat

"Well, explain." Sharpay whispered,

"I liked him ever since a few days after the sleepover. I couldn't tell you right away because I wasn't so sure yet, and it seems like Kelsi likes him, too, and I don't want to get into an awkward friendship with her." Gabriella whispered.

"Oh. Well, you're not so sure that Kelsi likes him, make sure of it first. And I'm glad you told us." Taylor said,

"Well, of course I have to tell you. I just took a long time because I wasn't sure." Gabriella said, with a shrug, hoping to get the conversation off of her.

"So, since you told us now, that means you're sure?" Sharpay asked, Gabriella shyly nodded,

"I knew it!" Sharpay said,

"Knew what?" Ryan asked as he and the other two boys following behind him,

"Nothing…" The girls said in unison. All had different looks on their eyes.

Sharpay-smug

Gabriella-mortified

Taylor-smiling

"Oh, so you're keeping secrets from us now?" Chad asked as he sat beside Taylor,

"Not really." Taylor said as she grabbed her bottle of water.

Sharpay giggled.

Ryan sat beside Gabriella and the two girls were smirking at her, she blushed all the different shades of red and buried her face under her hands.

"I believe you ordered pineapple juice?" Ryan asked as he offered her the bottle.

"Yeah, thanks" Gabriella said as she took the bottle from his hand. Her voice cracked.

Taylor stifled a laugh while Sharpay put her face between her knees and started to laugh quietly, but her body was vibrating.

She couldn't help it. Gabriella was so cute and Ryan had no clue.

Troy, who was seated beside Sharpay, raised an eyebrow.

"You seem awfully happy today" He noted.

Sharpay sat up and bit her lip

"I guess you can say that," She said; he chuckled and shook his head, _'women' _he thought.

"Mind telling me what the reason behind your happiness is?" He asked,

"Sorry, Troy, but no can do, it's a girl thing" Sharpay said,

"I think I can keep up" Troy urged,

"I doubt that"

Troy huffed, then flicked every corner of Sharpay's head, causing her hair to scatter.

She laughed, then poked his side. He jumped. Sharpay gasped then laughed,

"I found your tickle spot!" She said as she started poking him on the side,

"Stop that!" He cried, but he still had a smile planted on his face.

Everyone laughed at their antics. They were just happy they were finally friends.

"I'm warning you, Sharpay! I know where your tickle spot is, too. And I have bigger and stronger arms and hands than you do!" He threatened, but she never stopped.

"So?" She asked as she continued poking him, he was laughing and jumping on his seat.

"I warned you!" Troy said as he started to poke her sides as well. She laughed out loud and stood up and ran away, Troy chased her around the lounge. Some older people were smiling at them, and some shook their heads. Derby and Vance watched the two with happy and loving faces.

When Troy finally caught up with her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her in circles. She giggled.

"So, are you still gonna tickle me _now?"_ He asked with a smug face,

She chuckled, "No more, thank you" She said,

He let go of her but kept one arm around her waist.

--

Alexandra and her posse watched the whole scene. They were fuming. Her posse worshipped Troy, and Alexandra, well; she was pretty much claiming him without anyone's acknowledgement already.

She stood up, her posse watching her with curious eyes.

She grabbed a cup from the beverage area and made steaming hot coffee.

She walked over to where Sharpay and Troy were. She pretended like she was just walking and looking around the lounge. When she was close enough, she spilled the hot coffee on Sharpay's chest.

--

Sharpay gasped, "Ow!" She yelped in pain. The steaming hot coffee practically burned her skin and stained her white shirt.

"Oh My! Dear sister, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to!" She said with a plastic innocent face, she batted her eyelashes and usually glances at Troy, who was looking at her with irritated features.

"You so did that on purpose!" Sharpay said,

"Does it matter? Anything would make that outfit look better," She poured more coffee on her chest, "See?"

"Alexandra, what is your problem?" Troy exclaimed, he ran towards the food table, grabbed table napkins, and started to wipe the coffee off of her chest, he handed Sharpay some of the napkins he got and they both started to wipe some off. Alexandra, feeling stupid just standing there, walked back to her seat where her friends gave her a high-five.

"Troy, this isn't gonna work" Sharpay said s she crumpled the tissues and walked over to the trash bin and disposed her tissues; she then walked back to where Troy was.

"Here, take this." He said as he took off his jacket and put it on her. He zipped it up to cover the stain.

"Thanks." She said as they walked back to their seats.

"You know, I'll consider burying that psychotic sister of mine, no matter how hard working on it would be" Sharpay said as she sat down and drank her four seasons juice

"Of course." Taylor said.

"So, what do you guys wanna do when we arrive?" Gabriella asked them,

"I wanna surf" Troy said,

"I wanna play beach volleyball" Chad said

"I wanna got Jet skiing" Taylor said

"I wanna build a sandcastle" Gabriella said,

"I wanna swim." Ryan said,

"I wanna do all what you wanna do" Sharpay said,

"What time is our flight? I can't wait any longer!" Chad whined

"It'll be here at 7:30am. It's already 7:15am. Just wait, Chad" Taylor said as she snuggled next to him.

--

The flight had finally arrived, and they were loading the plane. They found their seats in the business class.

Alexandra and her posse were all seated together at the back. Vance and Derby were seated together by the front. While the gang was divided into three.

Troy, Sharpay and Gabriella were at the other front, while Chad, Taylor and Ryan were seated behind them.

They buckled their seatbelts. And the plane took off.

About an hour later, Troy was reading a magazine and noticed how quiet it has gone.

He looked at his side and saw the two girls, Sharpay and Gabriella, asleep. Gabriella's head was leaning on Sharpay's shoulder while Sharpay's head rested on Gabriella's head

He chuckled at the sight. He felt happy. His best friend found _another_ best friend other than Taylor and Kelsi and Martha. And he felt happy for Sharpay; she made such great friends in her first days in East High. Truthfully, he was proud of all his friends for welcoming the Evans twins.

Troy was amazed on how Sharpay changed his view towards the rich. She was kind and fun to be with. Ryan was another thing, he can be protective over all of them, and at the same time, he can be reckless, too. He looked behind him and saw Ryan, Taylor and Chad sleeping as well.

He turned his gaze back to Sharpay. A memory came flooding by his head.

"_I'm Bulimic, Ryan! I can't just stop! I've tried so hard to stop sticking my finger down my throat but I just can't, okay? Alexandra just keeps on urging me to…" She swallowed hard, and closing her eyes shut._

"_I don't want to see you lying down on a hospital bed with tubes connected to your systems again, Shar. Once is enough. When I found out you stuck your finger down your throat just this afternoon, I saw you in the hospital in my head again. The doctor told me that your digestive system is weak and you need to stop doing this and eat, or else, you'll have to go back." Ryan said in panicked voice._

"_I'm sorry, Ryan." Sharpay said softly,_

Troy shook his head and gently pulled Sharpay's head towards his shoulder. Gabriella stirred on her seat and snuggled closer to Sharpay. He chuckled. He carefully wrapped his arms around Sharpay and Gabriella, and leaned his head on Sharpay's.

He couldn't understand how he was feeling. A few days ago, he despised the Evans girl and Evans boy. But now, he felt a deep connection between them. She made him feel light, and that he could be reckless and honest with her. And he made him want to be more protective over his friends, but he knows he'll beat him any day

He sighed. He felt the coldness of the two girl's shoulders. He clicked the button which requested for a flight attendant.

Few seconds later, a kind woman who seemed to be in her 30's walked over with a smile on her face

She noticed how he was surrounded by two sleeping girls.

"How may I help you?" She whispered

"Can we have a blanket? They're starting to get cold. And, can you also give the sleeping trio one, too?" He requested with kindness shimmering on his face, as he pointed to the three people sleeping behind their seats.

"Definitely. I'll be right back" She said as she walked behind the curtains and came out with two big folded blankets.

"Here you go" She handed Troy the blanket, and went over to the 'sleeping trio' and wrapped the blanket around them.

"Thank you" Troy thanked as he spread the blanket to Sharpay, Gabriella and himself.

"You're welcome" she replied as she walked back to the crew's cabin.

He fell asleep soon after.

**Author's Note: I hope you like this chapter! I had fun writing it! Please review!**

**With Hearts,**

**LA2021~**


	9. Chapter 9

They had arrived in their respective rooms. The girls dropped their luggage on their respective beds. Gabriella flopped down on her bed and took in the lavender scented pillows and sheets; Taylor had already started rummaging through the channels of the TV, trying to find something that will catch her attention; While Sharpay was outside in the balcony taking in the salty air.

They stayed like that for a few minutes but then, the door burst open and revealed the three boys walking towards them.

"Hey girls!" Chad said as he sat beside Taylor and pecked her temple. She giggled,

"Hey guys" Gabriella said as she sat up and smiled at the three boys,

Ryan looked at her with an eyebrow raised, "What are you doing lying down right now? You can't possibly be sleepy, can you?" He teased her,

She giggled and shook her head, "Just getting some rest, Ry; so I can get a lot of energy for later when we rock the beach front!" She said with a laugh. He joined her.

Troy sat on what was supposed to be Sharpay's bed. He noticed her cell phone lying on the bedside table; that rang a bell.

"Hey, where's Sharpay?" He asked them,

"She's in the balcony," Taylor said as she tried to maintain her calm and posture while Chad flirted with her.

His eyes shifted to the balcony and saw Sharpay standing there. He smirked and grabbed her cell phone before walking outside where she stood.

Sharpay was peacefully looking at the sea and the seagulls that flew overhead; she sighed deeply and continued to stare. She heard someone clear his throat from behind her; she turned around came face to face with Troy.

"Hey," she greeted as she sent him a smile,

"Hey, yourself" He greeted back; Troy then walked over beside Sharpay and leaned on the railing, also taking in the fresh air.

"I just wanted to give you your phone, you got a new text message" Troy broke the silence,

Sharpay looked at it and back at him, "Uh, thanks!" She said as she flipped it open, seeing no new messages. "There's no new message" she said.

Troy brought out his cell phone and typed something in; a few seconds later, he slid down his phone and suddenly, Sharpay's phone started to buzz.

She smirked at him and looked at the message.

'_Play along w/ me 4 now.' _

Sharpay laughed at the message then looked back at him,

"Who was that?" He asked, "

She smirked at him, "A stalker." she teased,

He chuckled, "Of course it is" he said sarcastically

She giggled, "So, what's up?" Sharpay asked,

"Eh, nothing much; I just wanted to bring the missing link back into that room. Care to join us inside?" He asked her.

"Sure," She said as they walked back inside,

Everyone was watching a movie. They noticed the movie that was playing on TV was 'Take the lead'. Taylor and Chad watched it from her bed, while Gabriella and Ryan watched it from the floor.

The two silently walked over to Sharpay's bed and stayed there to watch the movie with them. Troy leaned down on Sharpay's pillows while she sat on the end.

After an hour, the movie ended and they sat up to prepare for lunch. Sharpay looked behind her and saw Troy peacefully sleeping on her bed. She giggled; she started to have a flashback of what happened earlier that day.

--

_Sharpay woke up from her sleep and felt warmer than the way she felt when she was still about to sleep. She saw Gabriella, she was already awake and reading a magazine; her eyes moved from Gabriella to her own body. She was wrapped in a blanket. _I don't remember having this when I fell asleep, _she thought. She shrugged the thought of and leaned on what she was leaning on before. That's when she noticed that she was leaning on Troy Bolton's chest. She looked up at him and saw that he was peacefully sleeping, and at that same moment, she noticed his arms around her. She smiled. _He is so generous,_ she thought._

_She continued staring at this angelic face before her… wait, what? No! She shook the thought away from her mind once she noticed what the hell she was saying. She didn't want to think of Troy that way. They were friends, growing friends. She didn't want to ruin that by ending up having a crush on him. But still, she stared at his sleeping face for a while before resting her head on his chest again getting some more sleep before they land._

_--_

She smiled at the memory; then, she walked over to where Troy laid. She tapped his shoulder and his eyes snapped open.

"Time to get up, sleepy head. It's lunch time" She said. He let out a soft chuckle before sitting up and running a hand through his hair.

"Thanks." He muttered under his breath. He stood up and checked his reflection in the mirror. He shook his head when he saw his face.

"Do you girls mind if I use your bathroom for a sec?" He asked them. "No" The three girls said.

"Thanks!" He replied before walking in. He stood in front of the faucet and mirror. He looked at himself again and shook his head. He turned the tap on and cupped the water in his hands. He bent down and splashed water on his face. He let out a breath of relief; he grabbed the face towel in one of the drawers nearby and wiped his face. He looked at himself again in the mirror and was satisfied. He looked more awake now.

He went out to go meet the five of them looking at him impatiently. He gave them a small smile and then they headed out the door.

They were looking for a special dining restaurant where they can eat lunch in. They saw in the brochure that was available for the guests in each room that there were restaurants for almost every liking. There was a Chinese restaurant, an Italian restaurant, a steakhouse, a Mexican restaurant, and even a bar.

They decided to eat in the Italian restaurant. They were seated in the table by the window. They ordered a plate of pasta each and one big pizza for everyone.

Their orders have arrived and they started to chow down.

"This is so good." Chad commented as he put yet another whole slice of pizza in his mouth.

Sharpay looked at him with shocked eyes; Gabriella just shook her head and continued eating her pasta; Troy looked as if nothing happened; Ryan let out a chuckle; while Taylor just looked at him with adoring eyes.

It was a miracle those two ever got along. Taylor was very prim and very organized, while Chad was almost the opposite. Sharpay chuckled and thought, _Ah, must be love._

When they had finished eating their meals, they asked for the bill and signed it under Vance Evans' name. They started to go to their respective rooms to get dressed for their day in the beach.

In the girls' room…

Sharpay brought out her black monokini and showed it to the girls.

"What do you think? Is this good enough? If it isn't I still have the bikini version of this in my bag…" Sharpay said. Gabriella and Taylor studied the swimsuit and imagined Sharpay wearing it. They approved.

"Wear the monokini, it looks cute on you." Gabriella said as she brought out a white bikini and her red one piece.

"Okay, I'm in dilemma here; which one should I wear? I really love the bikini, but this red swimsuit has sentimental value! Troy and Chad gave it to me for my birthday _years_ ago; and I always wore it, but me and my mom went shopping for this trip and bought the bikini. I would love to choose the bikini but they might get mad and…"

"Girl, go for the bikini! Troy would definitely understand and as for Chad, well, I'm sure he won't mind, either" Taylor said as she smirked.

Gabriella bit her lip, "Okay!" she said happily as she started to take her clothes off and put on the bikini.

They didn't mind seeing her naked; actually, they didn't mind if the three of them strip their clothes off in front of them. After all, they were best friends, and they were all girls; and what with their numerous sleepovers where they wear different outfits and put on makeup and pretend that they are in a runway; and their numerous shopping trips. It was nothing inappropriate or anything, they were just really good friends.

"Oh, by the way, Taylor, what will you wear?" Sharpay asked as she also took off her top,

"Oh, right! Let me go get it!" She said as she rummaged through her bag, she brought out a purple tankini.

"That's cute!" Gabriella said as she just finished putting on the bottom part of her bikini,

"Yeah…" Sharpay said as she finished putting on her monokini and sat behind Gabriella to help her tie up the knot of her swimsuit top.

"Thanks" Gabriella muttered.

Taylor beamed. She started to take her clothes off when the door burst open.

Gabriella's eyes got wide, "Hey!" she squealed as she threw herself in front of Taylor to cover her body. She also grabbed the sheets of her bed to give them a better cover.

Sharpay, on the other hand, threw herself to the person who entered, hoping to stop them from getting too close to her naked best friend.

Troy, Chad and Ryan raised one eyebrow each at first; they didn't really understand what was going on, but when they saw what Sharpay was wearing, and the fact that Gabriella had bed sheets covering her body with Taylor behind her rang a bell.

They blushed.

"Don't you ever knock?" Sharpay asked the boys. Ryan noticed how Chad and Troy were gaping over his sister's figure. He hissed at them before smacking their heads with his palms at the same time; he didn't really like people looking at her like that.

Chad shook his head, as if he was trying to snap out of something; while Troy scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry, sis, we thought it was okay to enter." Ryan said.

"How did you even get in here? The door was--" Sharpay said, but she was cut off by Troy,

"Not locked" He finished for her, she raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yeah," he answered. He suddenly felt like the collar of his t-shirt has gone tighter around his neck; seeing Sharpay in the way how she looks like now is…well, _something_ for Troy.

"Oh. Well, I'm… sorry for…snapping at you" Sharpay said as she also felt shy in her current outfit. She grabbed the nearest possible item to cover her body, which was, to her dismay, Troy's jacket.

Troy looked at his jacket and back at her. A playful smirk playing on his face, she blushed,

"Umm… I forgot to return this to you…so…here it is!" She made up quickly as she handed him his jacket.

He chuckled, "No, its fine. You can keep it for now… it seems like you need it more than I do" He said as he handed her back his jacket while glancing and raising his eyebrows at her outfit every now and then.

She faked a laugh, "Thanks," she said as her blush got deeper.

"Umm… can you continue your little chatter later? I'm naked over here!" Taylor almost yelled.

Chad's eyes got wider before nodding, "Okay! Guys, let's go!" He said as he grabbed the two boys' shoulders and dragging them out the room. He might fantasize about some girls _sometimes_ but his heart was with Taylor, and he didn't want any other boy fantasizing about her in the way that only he was supposed to.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry if this chapter is too short. I'll make it up to you guys in the next ******

**Now, tell me, what do you really think of this story? Am I going too fast?**

**BTW, aren't you glad that Troy is finally friends with Shar and Ryan? I am! The drama is so close now! A little spoiler: The drama starts to unveil itself when they finally meet Grandma Evans. **

**Anyhow, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Thanks!**

**With Hearts, **

**LA2021~**


	10. Chapter 10 Part One

The sun was shining from up above; the seagulls flew overhead and the people in the beach were scattered. Everyone had just arrived on the beach front. And by everyone, I mean the gang, Alexandra and her girls, Derby and Vance, and the rest of the Evans family.

The gang dropped their things at a spot quite far away from the rest.

"Wow, this is great" Chad said as he sat on the sand and closed his eyes.

"Sure as hell is" Ryan said as he opened their huge white beach umbrella. Sharpay put a towel on the shaded spot under the umbrella and sat there.

After the girls' humiliating encounter earlier that day, they haven't spoken that much. They would cringe away and blush whenever they have eye contact with the boys. Gabriella, who was planning on just wearing short shorts, added a t-shirt as her cover up.

Sharpay, who was planning on just wearing a skirt, decided to wear a dress for her cover up, as well.

And Taylor, whose encounter was the worst among the three of them, decided to wear denim capris with a wife beater.

The boys, on the other hand, wore board shorts and their chests were bare.

"Come on, girls! Ya'll have been pretty quiet. What's the big deal?" Chad asked them,

"Probably just in shock because of our heavenly bodies" Troy said with a smirk. Gabriella and Taylor couldn't help but snicker.

"Hope so…" Ryan said. Sharpay hid under the umbrella as much as possible. The others may not be so aware of this, but Ryan was not one of them. He looked at her with such concern, although he knew better than ask her why… and anyway, he already knew.

Gabriella and Taylor seemed to have loosened up and took off their cover ups. Chad looked at Taylor with pride… while Ryan did his best not to steal a glance at Gabby, but he failed. He looked down sheepishly when they had eye contact.

"So, who's up for some beach volleyball?" Chad asked as he held out the white ball. Taylor, Gabriella, Troy and Ryan beamed.

"We all are!" Taylor said as she grabbed the ball from Chad's hand and she and Gabriella ran to their side of the 'court',

The boys all ran immediately to the opposite side of the court and started to warm up.

"Sharpay, come out here!" Gabriella yelled; Sharpay looked up sheepishly and stood up from under the umbrella and stood beside Gabby.

"Our serve" Taylor said as she backed up a few paces and served the ball perfectly. The boys jumped and hit the ball to the girls' side of the court. Sharpay held out her hand and hit the ball, which flew perfectly towards the boys' side. The game went on and on until they were all very tired.

"I don't want to play anymore" Gabriella said,

"Same here" Chad agreed. Sharpay let out a breath before sitting down under the umbrella again.

"So, what should we do now?" Taylor asked.

"We can go swimming?" Ryan suggested. Everyone seemed to have thought about it for a while before Troy spoke up.

"That's great! I'll race you guys there" He said as he began to run towards the waters. Everyone but Sharpay soon ran after him, hoping to make it there before he does. But in the midst of running, Troy stopped immediately, being unnoticed by the others; and walked back towards Sharpay.

"Hey, you alright?" He asked her as he sat beside her under the umbrella.

"Hmm?" she asked as she looked up, and saw Troy's eyes looking at her with a sweet and concerned look in his face.

"Oh, I'm fine. I'm just not really in the mood to swim; but you should go ahead. Have fun" Sharpay encouraged.

Troy pretended to think about it for a while before shaking his head 'no'.

"I'd rather take a walk. You wanna join me?" He invited. Sharpay smiled and softly nodded. Troy stood up and offered his hand to Sharpay, which she gladly took.

They walked in silence for a while until Troy decided to break it.

"So, what's the real reason you didn't want to go swimming?" He asked. She looked up at him in surprise.

"What do you mean?" she asked; he shrugged, "I don't know, I just thought that maybe there was a reason why you didn't want to swim"

"Oh, well… I don't know, I guess I'm… just not comfortable" She explained to him. It wasn't a complete lie, wasn't it?

"Not comfortable with what, the water?" He asked again. Neither of them knew where this conversation was leading, but no one had the urge to stop it.

"No, not really; I'm just not comfortable with taking this dress off" He knew that if he kept on urging her, she would most likely tell him her secret.

"Why? You look hot!" He exclaimed. She stared up at him with teasing eyes; he first wondered what he said wrong… but then he knew right away.

"I mean… you know…nothing to be insecure about" He quickly added. She burst out laughing and he had to join in.

"Seriously, Shar, I sometimes don't get why you're bulimic" He said; although, he quickly regretted it as soon as the words were out in the open.

Sharpay stopped laughing then and looked him in the eyes with a very serious face.

"What?" She asked,

"I-I…" Troy stuttered; he couldn't think of any logical excuse.

"H-how… HOW DID YOU KNOW?!" She yelled at him; causing some people to look at them with curious eyes.

"Can I please just explain it somewhere else? Please?" He asked her.

Sharpay looked up at him with a hard and worried look on her face. She thought about it for a while before nodding.

"Fine; come on" She said as she dragged him back inside the resort. They sat in the porch area and talked with hushed voices.

"Okay. Explain to me how you found out about my condition" Sharpay demanded. Troy never saw her like this; so mad and…mad.

"It was way back in the sleep-over… I heard you and Ryan talk outside… I didn't follow you; I was out sitting under a tree when you came in… or out, in this case" Troy explained.

"You knew ever since then?!" Sharpay now yelled.

"I know you and Ryan wanted it to be a secret, and you would be so upset if you found out someone else knew… so I kept my mouth shut" Troy defended himself.

Sharpay whimpered as she buried her face in her hands. Troy looked at her guiltily.

"Shar, I'm really sorry… but, I swear that I won't tell a soul about your bulimia." Troy promised as he reached his hand out to touch her shoulder for comfort; but she flinched away from his touch.

"No! I can't believe you just did that! I can't even…I can't even look at you right now! I can't stand being near you…" Sharpay said as she stood up and ran away from Troy. Troy stared at where Sharpay was seated a moment ago; he couldn't believe what just happened.

Troy stood up and walked away, too. He wanted to clear his mind and just…think.

However, when Troy left, a figure came out from behind the wall that was very close to where they had their argument, and smirked.

_So Sharpay is bulimic, huh?_ The figure thought.

**Author's Note: Uhoh! Someone else (aside from Troy) knows about Sharpay's condition. Wonder who that could be… oh well, you'll just have to read the second part of this chapter to find out! I want to thank ****xopeaceQTx13**** for giving me the idea of Sharpay finding out that Troy knows; she deserves the biggest credit for this chapter. :D Anyhow, please leave a review! Thanks. Love you, guys!**

**With Hearts,**

**LA2021~**

**PS: Sorry if this chapter was short; it's just the first part anyway. :D**


	11. Chapter 10 Part Two

Troy paced around his room; not sure what he's supposed to do. He had upset Sharpay, and he didn't want that. He didn't want them to go back to being 'enemies'; he was surprisingly happy when they started to be friends. After their argument, Troy went straight to the guys' room for him to be alone, and to think clearly. He didn't know where Sharpay was, but he hoped she'll feel the urge to talk to him just like the way he feels right now. He wanted to talk, to explain… but she didn't want that.

However, he wasn't so sure, maybe she wants to, too, but still trying to get rid of the shock. He'll give her time. That's what she needed; some time.

Hours have passed and Chad and Ryan entered their room. They were shocked to see Troy lying down on his bed with his hands covering his eyes.

"Hey, what's up?" Chad asked his best friend. Troy sat up and gave Ryan a small glance.

"Um, nothing…" Troy replied. He hesitated whether to tell Ryan or not. He thought that if he did tell Ryan, then maybe he'll be the understanding twin and help him out… but then again, there's also another chance that he'll yell at him much harder than little Sharpay had.

He decided not to. "Nothing; I just kinda wanted to take a nap. So how was the beach after I left?" he asked; he obviously wanted to change the topic.

"Well, we surfed; trust me, man! Taylor is a hottie in a surf board!" Chad said with pride. Troy and Ryan chuckled at the vile thoughts of their friend.

"Well, I'm glad I didn't see that, Chad" Troy teased his best friend. Chad just rolled his eyes as a reply. Suddenly, Ryan asked the question Troy dreaded the most.

"Have you seen Sharpay? I was looking around for her earlier today but I couldn't find her. I assumed she was with you…was she?" Ryan asked. Troy immediately thought of a rational response.

"Ah, well… she was, but we just took a walk, but then I decided to take a nap and so she said she'll head out, too. But, she didn't tell me where." He responded. The look on Ryan's face made him guilty. He couldn't just lie to him.

"Oh, I see… well, she's probably with Gabriella and Taylor anyways. Where else could she go" Ryan said… although, he was mostly talking to himself.

Troy gave a small smile to Ryan before heading outside, "I'll just go for a jog in the beach front… I'll see you guys later" Troy said.

"Don't be too long, though. We'll have to prepare for dinner soon" Ryan said.

"Yeah" Troy replied before sauntering out the room.

--

Sharpay sat inside the girls' bedroom whilst staring blankly into space. She regretted ever yelling and walking away from Troy, but, what else could she do? The secret she wanted to keep to herself, and the two people she loved the most, was known to someone else. And to make it worse, it had to be Troy. Troy Bolton who had loathed her for quite some time now and suddenly just became friends with her. She wanted this fact about her life to become a secret to her new life in Albuquerque; but she wasn't having that.

She heard Taylor and Gabriella's voices outside the room. She heard the door open and then, she finally saw her two friends.

"Hey, Shar; where were you?" Gabriella asked, with her hair still a bit wet from the sea water.

"Just decided to go up here a few hours ago, to take a nap" Sharpay lied.

"Oh… well, Ryan was looking for you today" Gabriella said as she wrapped her hair up in a towel. Sharpay fake-shrugged and said, "Oh, well, I guess I'll just ask him what he wanted".

"You do that, I'll just go take a shower" Taylor said as she entered the marble-floored bathroom.

"Gabby, do you think you can come with me?" Sharpay asked Gabriella as she stood up,

Gabriella huffed and gave Sharpay a guilty smile, "No can do, Shar… I'm wiped out!" she said.

Sharpay nodded softly, "Alright. I'll be right back" Sharpay said as she left their bedroom.

--

Troy's jog was shortened when he felt the cold air of the night. He hadn't brought a jacket with him since he was in a rush to get out of their room, and, he didn't really expect it to be so cold. He was in a beach, for crying out loud.

He jogged back to the resort and passed by Sharpay's and Ryan's parents.

"Troy!" He heard Vance call him. He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the 'rents.

"Hey, Mr. Evans; Mrs. Evans" He greeted. Derby offered him a small smile.

"Oh, pish posh, call us Derby and Vance, will ya?" Derby said with a soft chuckle.

Troy let out a soft laugh, "Will do, Derby"

"That's it." Derby gave him a playful wink.

"So, what's up?" Troy asked,

"Oh, nothing much; just wanted to check on you. So, just came from a jog, huh, young man?" Vance asked.

"Yeah, I did. It felt great. But, the wind got too cold, so I'll be heading in now" Troy said.

"Oh, fabulous; well, I don't want to hold you back, so you go on ahead, son" Vance said. Troy nodded with a smile.

"Thanks" he said before jogging back inside.

When he arrived in his floor, he ran towards his bedroom but was shocked to see Sharpay coming out of her hotel room which was across the hall from his.

"Shar?" He called. Her head snapped up and immediately, her eyes met his.

"What?" she asked; her voice was small, and shy, even. But, worry is the most notable expression in her eyes.

"Listen, I know it's…umm… can we talk? Please?" Troy begged.

Sharpay looked at him for a while before sighing deeply. "Fine." She answered.

She grabbed his hand and led him to a secluded corner in the hallway.

"Look, Sharpay, I'm sorry if I didn't tell you sooner… I knew it would upset you so I just decided to keep it to myself. I thought it wouldn't hurt back then" Troy reasoned.

Sharpay took a while before she could answer, but when she did, she said, "its okay. You just have to promise you won't tell anyone"

"Oh, I promise! I promise! I promise!" Troy emphasized his promise as he grabbed Sharpay's hand for reassurance. He didn't want them to go back to what they used to be: enemies,

Sharpay smiled, "Thank you, Troy. And I forgive you"

Troy beamed and couldn't resist giving Sharpay a small hug; she was shocked at first but then decided to hug him back.

"Goodness, Troy… missed me, much?" Sharpay teased. Troy chuckled before leaning away and giving her an embarrassed smile.

"You bet I did" Troy teased back.

Sharpay giggled, "Let's go back to the gang, shall we?"

"We shall" Troy agreed before they walked back to the rooms.

**Author's Note: There's the second part of the Tenth Chapter of "Figures". Thanks again to xopeaceQTx13 for giving me the idea for this chapter! Thanks for reading! And please leave a review! Thanks!**

**With Hearts,**

**LA2021~**


	12. Chapter 11

It has been a complete hassle for the girls during their preparation time for dinner. They had many outfit choices and they can't let themselves stick to one. After many hours, they finally found what they really want.

Sharpay wore a venetian red tube dress that fell to her knees, with matching silver strappy heels; Gabriella wore dark green spaghetti strapped dress that fell a few inches above her knees with white platform heels; and Taylor was wearing a tight yellow long sleeved dress that ended above her knees, matching it with yellow pumps.

They inspected how they looked in the mirror and gave a nod of approval. They walked out and saw the guys doing the same.

Taylor practically drooled over Chad. He was wearing jeans, a white shirt and a black blazer, and black leather shoes. He never really dresses this way. Which is why she was appalled.

Gabriella was having a hard time not looking at Ryan. He was wearing a blue dress shirt, black slacks and black leather shoes, finishing the look off with a blue hat.

Charming!

"You guys ready to go?" Ryan asked them all.

"Yes" they replied simultaneously. Chad offered his arm to Taylor, she gladly did. Ryan did the same thing to Gabriella, and she shyly accepted, as well.

That's when Sharpay noticed Troy's absence.

"Hey guys, where's Troy?" Sharpay asked. That's when Troy arrives from inside the boys' room.

Sharpay's gaped at his appearance; he was wearing black jeans, a white dress shirt with a black tie, and black sneakers. His hair was still wet, causing it to be a bit darker than his usual sandy brown. The darkness of his hair made his blue eyes sparkle.

Gabriella and Taylor shared a look and giggled. The sound made Sharpay look away from Troy sheepishly.

"I'm ready to go!" Troy said happily. When he noticed everyone smirking at him, he raised his eyebrow.

"What?" He asked innocently. They just shook their heads and headed to the elevators.

Troy put his hands in his pockets and looked at Sharpay, who was looking at the floor.

"So, do I look decent enough? I was the last to finish preparing, and I hope I don't look like I rushed." He said.

"No, you look great!" Sharpay said too quickly. Troy sent a smirk in her way,

"I mean, you look…okay. You look decent" Sharpay 'corrected' herself.

Troy chuckled, "Thanks, Shar. Shall we?" He asked as he let out his arm, which she gladly took.

--

Dinner time was filled with laughter and chatter. They talked about business, school and other current events. The waiters took their orders and went off to the kitchen, rushing. They knew better than to let the Evans wait.

Sharpay socialized softly with her aunt, Sharon; they talked about Sharpay moving in to Albuquerque, her first day to a new school, and her friends. Sharon would compliment how grown up she was, and she would steal glances at Troy, who was absently resting his hand on Sharpay's knee, every now and then.

Sharpay looked around, and saw that her Grandmother looking at her with a furtive glint in her eyes; causing Sharpay to gulp.

She looked away quickly, still feeling her gaze. Luckily, the food came in and everyone turned their attention to the food.

When Sharpay got her plate of lamb steak, she cut the meat and picked it up with her fork, she was about to put it in her mouth when her Grandmother spoke up,

"Sharpay, I cannot stand seeing you scarf down that calorific meat! Put that down!"

Everyone turned to look at the two females. Ryan and Troy froze; Alexandra was shocked at first, but then turned smug; and the rest were appalled.

"I'm sorry," she muttered as she put down her fork and stared at her lap for a second. Grandma Evans scoffed, and picked up her wine glass, "Goodness, no wonder you look dreadfully large", she said before drinking.

Sharpay bit her lip. She stared at the meat she was about to eat and couldn't help but agree. The meat shined with the oil and juices that were on it.

Gabriella and Taylor shifted awkwardly in their seats; they ordered the same food.

"Um, mother" Vance addressed, "I assure you that Sharpay is healthy and has a proper diet. Their nanny, Dorota, ensures that" He said reassuringly.

"Well, dear, it seems like she didn't do her job well" Grandma Evans said, swirling the white wine in her glass. Alexandra saw Sharpay flinch in her seat, and felt glorious.

"What have you done to yourself, Sharpay?" she asked in pity.

"Mom…" Sharon warned her mother, "We are gathered here today to be a family. Let's at least try to act like one".

Grandma Evans chuckled, "I am trying… but it is clear that the Evans family has a reputation to live up to, and sadly, she does not live up to it. She can see how much she's grown, and yet she still eats such fattening food. It's shameful! We have images to build! I mean, look at Alexandra! She is very exquisite, and very talented; naturally. I do not see Sharpay trying anything to bring us pride at all." She defended herself; acting innocent.

"Mother!" Vance cried angrily as he slammed his fist to the table; followed by a loud noise and the bell like sounds caused by the plates and silverwares.

Everyone was silent.

Sharpay took a deep breath; trying her best not to let her grandmother's words hit her. But, it can't be. Her words hit her very badly.

"Um, excuse me" Sharpay said as she pushed her chair off the table and stood up. She walked towards the exit of the private room; however, the same time she did, a waiter was walking in while carrying a big serving of pie, about to give it to her family.

"I'll take that, thank you" she said as she grabbed the pie without any intentions of stopping. A few seconds later, she was out of sight.

The waiter looked at the family with curious glances but decided to leave them be when he saw the distraught look on their faces. All except for two.

Ryan closed his eyes in distress. This happened before; and after it happened, was the time of Sharpay's first confinement to the hospital. He wanted to follow her and try to stop her; but he knew it wouldn't work. Sharpay would still do it when he leaves her alone- she was very stubborn.

Troy felt speechless. He didn't know what to do, what to think, and what to feel. He shook his head and stared at the floor. He glanced at everyone else at the table; Gabriella and Taylor looked worried, Chad looked frozen, Sharon and their uncle, Ralph, were just looking down, Derby and Vance were very angry, but only Vance showed it, Derby was more concerned about her daughter; Alexandra looked awkward, but there were no signs of concern, their grandmother just continued to eat like nothing was wrong.

And lastly, he saw Ryan. His face was paler than usual; and his eyes were glassy. You could tell he was clenching his jaw, and his eyebrows were crumpled. Troy knew the reason why.

So much for a peaceful dinner,

---

**A/N: (VERY IMPORTANT) I'm not sure if the medical terms I put in here are correct, or even true. I just made things up to go along with the story; so please don't believe what I write just yet. Ask a professional.**

Sharpay arrived at her hotel room, with tears streaming down her face. She put the pie on the mini bar before she leaped to her bed where she sobbed her eyes out.

She kept crying for many minutes before she gained some control. She sat herself up and felt her stomach grumble. She hadn't really eaten that much today; and the drama with Troy made her forget about eating for quite a while.

She headed towards the mini bar and grabbed the pie and a fork. Then, she walked to the bathroom and shut the door closed, locking it.

Not letting another minute pass, she stabbed the pie using the fork and ate as much as she could; no longer taking any bites. Once the food is in her mouth, she swallows and swallows. She was indeed binging. The doctor had told her to take things slow when eating. Her stomach has grown slightly weak, and couldn't tolerate just any kind of digestion. But, she was going against all that now.

After a while, she had finished the whole pie. She looked at herself in the mirror, and saw the pie's filling stained in her face. She cried harder as she wiped them away. She felt a stinging pain in her stomach and knew she had gone overboard. Not thinking, she poked her throat using her finger. Automatically, she felt the acid collect in her throat and quickly the vomit poured from out her mouth.

It hurt her a lot. The acid hurting her throat, and the feeling of your stomach being emptied hit her all at once. She gripped the marble counter that held the faucet tightly, as if holding on for dear life.

She couldn't stop the vomit from pouring down. She wanted it to stop! But it wouldn't. It was happening again. She knew she'd disappoint Ryan and Troy, and maybe everyone else if they knew. But, she couldn't think of that now. She had to try to at least stop the gagging.

After numerous attempts, it finally came to an end. Sharpay was sure she didn't stop it; she must've vomited all the contents of her stomach. She washed her face clean after.

Feeling tired, she let herself slide down the wall. Feeling sleep, or whatever stage of consciousness hits her whenever she feels this way, dawn over her.

--

The gang walked up to their rooms quietly. Everyone was worried about Sharpay, especially Ryan. When they reached their room, Ryan spoke up.

"Guys, I'm really sorry for what happened during dinner" He apologized. Everyone looked at him, with concerned looks on all their faces.

"It's alright, Ryan. I guess it was just wrong timing…" Gabriella said. Everyone agreed.

"Thanks, but still, I'm still sorry you had to see that." He said with a pained expression as he shook his head whilst looking down.

"Hey, like what Gabby said, it's okay… we're your friends, we're here for you, man. Always" Chad reassured him.

"Thanks," He said with a smile. "Do you mind if I check on Sharpay alone first?" He asked them; they nodded.

Gabriella and Taylor gave him one of the keys they were provided with. He used it to open the door, and when he did. He closed the door, but not completely. He slowly scanned the room, looking for his sister. When he was sure she wasn't in the bedroom, he carefully opened the bathroom- afraid of what he'll see.

He was right.

The sight was the one he dreaded the most. Sharpay was unconscious on the floor, with an empty pie tray near the sink. Ryan ran towards her and hurriedly checked her pulse-just in case.

He felt a faint pounding on her wrist, and he was relieved. But, not just yet.

He heard the door open, and light footsteps from outside the bathroom.

He braced himself from what would happen next. "Ryan, are you in here?" he heard Gabriella from the other side. Before he could reply, the door burst open, revealing a curious and suddenly shocked looking Gabriella.

"Ryan!? What the hell!" She exclaimed as she threw herself on the floor next to them.

Gabriella's cry was heard from outside the room, and caused Taylor, Chad and Troy to rush to where they were.

They were shocked to see an unconscious Sharpay on the floor, being cradled by Gabriella while Ryan brought out his cell phone.

Troy felt traumatized. He never thought he'd see Sharpay in this condition. Taylor leaped towards her, too; touching her arms and forehead as if it could do any good.

"Ryan, what's wrong with her?" Chad demanded. Chad had always felt protective of Sharpay in a friendly and brother-like way. It most started when he was trying to convince Troy that the Evans twins were good people, and things went on by themselves pretty much from there.

"She's not feeling well. We need to get her to the hospital" Ryan said in a serious tone as he walked out of the bathroom and started packing some things Sharpay will need.

"Should I go tell your parents?" Troy spoke for the first time.

"NO! They shouldn't know about this" Ryan yelled at Troy.

"But why not?" Gabriella asked,

Ryan didn't reply at first, thinking what he should say, "I'll explain everything in the hospital. Troy, call the front desk and ask them to get us a car. Now, please" he said. Troy did as he was told.

After a few minutes, they carried Sharpay to the lobby, earning stares from a couple of people. They were very thankful that the other Evans' were already sleeping in their hotel rooms.

--

Gabriella, Chad, Taylor and Troy were seated at the blue leather chairs of the hospital's waiting area, while Ryan talked to the nurse.

Gabriella felt uneasy; she didn't have a clue what was wrong with Sharpay. She somehow felt ashamed of herself for not knowing this side of Sharpay. She thought she knew all she needs to know, but it seems that she was wrong.

Ryan walked over to them and sat beside Gabriella. "What did the nurse say?" She asked.

"She's being treated right now, but we can't visit her until she gets her rest." He answered glumly

"Ryan, we want to know what's going on" Taylor said. Ryan sighed in defeat and told them everything.

Troy listened half-heartedly; he was staring at space with his face blank. Ryan finished telling his story and everyone was dumbfounded.

Silence took over them, until Chad spoke up.

"So, what are we gonna do? What about your parents? And what if the hospital won't release her just yet? We're going back to Albuquerque tomorrow… and if she isn't free to go, then what will we say? You already made it clear that we shouldn't tell anyone" He said.

"We'll make up a lie, that's all we can do" Ryan answered.

Everyone nodded and waited for a resolution that would hopefully come.

**Author's Note: There! I finally updated! I'm sorry for not updating sooner! I hope you like this chapter! Please review!**

**With Hearts,**

**LA2021~**


	13. Chapter 12

They did the only thing they could. Wait. The thing that was very difficult for them now. Hours had passed, and they were very eager to hear from the doctors, nurses, and of course, Sharpay.

It was the hardest thing they could do.

More hours had passed and Troy flipped his phone open, checking the time; it was exactly 3:00am, he felt his eyelids attempt to close; but the reminder of Sharpay's limp figure on the floor gave his eyes the motivation to stay open.

He looked around the room and saw almost everyone asleep. He sighed and buried his face in his hands. He couldn't believe what was happening. He had imagined this happening, but he never thought he'd actually see it. And the real thing was a lot more disturbing than what he imagined.

Suddenly, he heard faint footsteps approach him. He looked up and saw the nurse walking towards him with a clipboard in hand.

"Good Morning, sir, are you a relative of Ms. Evans?" The nurse asked him,

"Um, no, I'm not her relative. But, I am a friend of hers." Troy explained.

"I see. Well, regularly, we do not allow non-relatives to visit the patient, but since she wishes to see anybody at this moment, I am allowing you to see her. Is that alright with you?" The nurse asked him,

"Yes, yes, of course" Troy said as he stood up immediately and walked with the nurse to Sharpay's room.

--

Troy silently opened the door; he peeked in first, before going inside thoroughly.

He saw Sharpay lying down on the white bed whilst fiddling with her fingers. The image made him smile. He walked inside and sat on the chair next to her.

She looked at him and gave him a sad smile.

"I'm sorry. I really am sorry" She weakly said, her voice breaking twice.

Troy just looked at her.

His silence spoke a lot of words to her. She looked down in embarrassment. She felt tears beginning to form on her eyes, and then they fell continuously.

As she cried her fears and emotions out, she suddenly felt a soft hand touch her shoulders. She looked at the location of the touch, and saw Troy's hand. She looked at him now, only to see his eyes shining with sympathy, worry, care, and love.

She threw herself at him, then. He immediately wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed on his chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" She cried. Troy rubbed her back comfortingly and friendlily kissed her hair whilst saying "it's okay, it's not your fault, I understand" every now and then.

Troy **couldn't** get mad at her now. He knew that she would get a mouthful from Gabriella, Taylor, Chad, and especially Ryan. He would be her armor, her knight, her escape. He knew she needed him more than ever. It wasn't because he liked her or anything…right?

When Sharpay calmed down, Troy slightly pulled away from their embrace to look at her. Her eyes were puffy and she looked very pale.

He used his thumb to wipe away her tears. She looked at him now, feeling slightly consoled.

"Now, I'm not gonna say that I'm not mad at you for what you've done. But, I will say that I'm shocked and disappointed. You know better than to let their opinions get the better of you" Troy said.

"I know, I'm sor--"

"No, don't say you're sorry. I heard you the first time. What I want to hear now is a promise. A promise that you will not do that again, you have to promise me that." he said.

"I promise" she weakly replied.

"Thank you." He replied gently.

"Where's Ryan?" She asked. She was scared to see him, but she knew she had to. And besides, he _needed_ to see him; he always made her feel bad to make her feel better.

"He's asleep with the others in the waiting room."

"Others?" She asked.

"Yeah; Gabriella, Taylor and Chad are out there, too. Don't worry, we didn't tell your parents, or anyone else in your family" He ensured.

Sharpay shook her head. "They must be so angry and disappointed at me right now"

"I won't be so sure about that. They're more concerned and worried,"

"How can you be so sure?" She asked

"I've known them for almost my entire life, I'm bound to know what they think." He said with a smile. She smiled back.

"I'll take your word for it, then."

"Good. Now, I think you should get some sleep." Troy told her. She chuckled.

"I think you're the one who needs to sleep, not me" She said.

Troy chuckled and softly shook his head, "I'll go to asleep when you do."

--

The next morning, at about 7:00am, Gabriella walked inside Sharpay's room to give her a tray of food for her to eat.

"Good Morning" Gabriella shyly said. Sharpay responded with a simple 'good morning' as well.

"I got you some breakfast to eat" she said with a hushed voice, for Troy was still sleeping on the chair next to Sharpay's bed. _He must've stayed here with Sharpay last night,_ Gabriella thought.

"Thanks." She said as she slowly started to eat her food.

"Sharpay, I need to tell you something." She awkwardly said. She wasn't good with serious talks, but she knew she needed to have one now.

Sharpay closed her eyes. _Here comes the bomb_, she thought.

"What is it?"

"I—I'm very upset about what you did, but I'm even more saddened by the fact that you didn't tell me. I feel very disappointed at myself for not seeing the signs. I mean, what kind of a best friend am I? Even Troy knew, and he isn't the sharpest of us all, and he didn't even like you. I don't mean to sound shallow, 'coz I do care about your condition, but you not telling me just makes me wonder where our friendship stands, or where I stand in your life" She let out her thoughts.

"I know what you mean. And I'm sorry. Truthfully, I didn't even want anyone at all to know about my condition. But, you must know that, even if I didn't tell you, that doesn't mean I don't trust you. Gabby, you and Taylor are my best friends, and the reason I didn't tell you is because I didn't want to change the way you look at me. I didn't want you to think I'm some kind of girl who is insecure about people's opinions, even if I am."

"Well, we wouldn't. I'm sorry you had to think we'd do such thing." Gabriella said as she held Sharpay's hand.

"It's okay. I forgive you… the only question is, do _you_ forgive _me?" _ Sharpay asked.

"Of course."

The two best friends shared a hug, when two figures entered the room.

"And we forgive you, too" Taylor said quietly.

They must have been eavesdropping.

Sharpay looked up from the hug to look at them with teary eyes. Chad and Taylor walked over to where they were and joined the hug.

"Hey, is there still a room in the hug for me?" They heard someone say, the looked up from the hug again, only to see Troy, already awake.

Sharpay laughed and said, "of course,"

Troy smiled and joined in the hug.

--

**Author's Note: I am so sorry for not updating any sooner! School just started here in my country and I had a lot going on :D Anyway, I hope this satisfies you for now. The next chapters will be better [I'll try to make it better, at least]. :D Please leave a review.**

**With Hearts,**

**LA2021~**

**Quote: "A story is not called a story unless it' complete"**

**-LA2021. [ME!!]**


	14. Chapter 14

It has been exactly three weeks since the gang's vacation. Everything was just doing great, Sharpay health has slowly come back to normal, and every one of her closest friends helped her feel better.

The girls were in the library doing some extra work. The past three weeks was all about covering up the secrets they all found out, or shared. It was a big relief to all of them that they convinced Ryan's and Sharpay's parents that the rush to the hospital that late at night was all just about a bad stomach ache caused by food poisoning. They were concerned enough to let her stay in the hospital until she was surely prepared to travel.

"Will this book help?" Gabriella asked as she held out a book about algebra, the topic of their report.

"Sure, put it in the table" Taylor said.

Sharpay was seated down in the table already jotting down notes they could use. "I hope you guys won't just bring in books."

"Oh, don't worry, Sharpay. We'll copy something after you're done." Taylor teased. Sharpay rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at her. Gabriella giggled.

They continued working for a few more minutes before the Zeke and Chad came in to join them.

"Hey there, ladies, how is the day treating you?" Chad said as he pulled a chair from beneath the table. "We're doing good, thanks." Taylor replied as she put another book in the table.

"Speak for yourself! No one's even helping me with all these!" Sharpay said from behind the pile of books.

"You wanted to do that this morning, didn't you?" Taylor said.

"I did...but I didn't expect to do all the writing." Sharpay replied, and then returned to writing.

"I'll help you with that." Zeke offered. He moved his chair closer to Sharpay's, took a pencil from Sharpay's pencil case, and started to write down some notes as well.

"Thanks, Zeke, really... but I don't think your assistance would be necessary." Sharpay declined.

Zeke scoffed, "Nah, I don't have anything better to do anyway..."- he paused, after seeing the understanding/expecting look on Sharpay's face-"And, I really do want to help" he added.

Sharpay's face softened. She thought that Zeke was being a gentleman because, well, he just felt like he had no other choice. But, she was comforted that he was doing it for her as well.

"Well, if you put it that way, then...thanks." Sharpay smiled as she continued writing.

Chad, Gabriella, and Taylor stared at them for a moment, but they shook it off and continued like nothing happened.

"See that, Chad? You should try acting like that sometime." Taylor said as she flipped the pages of an old red book.

"Well, I bet that even if I don't act like that, you'll still love me." Chad replied wryly.

Taylor looked down and turned her heel, avoiding Chad's gaze-refraining him to see her smile.

"Maybe..." she later replied.

Gabriella sighed. Oh, how she wished Ryan was as sweet to her as they. She didn't even know where that thought came from! But, she couldn't help but think so.

Taylor cleared her throat, causing the group to look up at her. "I guess we should all take a break, lunch is almost over and we wouldn't want the hour to end without eating anything, now do we?" Taylor said.

"Sure." Gabriella said  
"I'd be more than glad to, I'm famished!" Sharpay said.

"Alright, come on." Gabriella and Sharpay started gathering up their things, but Zeke began to say,

"Um... I already had my lunch. I'd be glad to stay behind and continue what I was doing"

"What? No, Zeke... I don't, I mean, _we_ don't want to take you for granted... and _we_ don't want you to think that, either. Come on, join us" Sharpay ushered.

"No, really, I don't mind."

Sharpay sighed. "Then I guess I'll stay behind with you." She put down her things again and pulled the chair

"What? Now, that's ridiculous. You just said you were 'famished'... I won't let you starve yourself" Zeke said,

"See, that's how ridiculous you just sounded. Dude, it's not even your project" Sharpay said,

"Fine; if I leave this work, will you eat, then?" Zeke offered his compromise

"Sounds good" Sharpay smiled. Then, they gathered their things and followed the rest out the door. What they didn't notice was a certain curious, blue-eyed boy watching from a corner.

--

Biology class was one of Sharpay's favourite classes. She loved the subject, and she loved the people who she was in the class with. As Sharpay trotted down the hall to the classroom, silver heels clicking, someone suddenly grabbed her arm, dragging her to a corner away from earshot.

"Whoa, hold on right there!" Sharpay exclaimed as she freed herself from the person's grip. She turned around to see who it was; she was surprised to see her best friend, Gabriella.

"Gabby? What's up?" She asked, as she eyed her troubled looking best friend.

"I'm bothered."

"That's a shock." Sharpay said sarcastically, "Why? What happened?"

"Well," Gabriella groaned mid sentence, "I don't like where my thoughts are taking me. I'm sure you won't either." She said, covering her face with her hands.

"I'm sure it's not that bad. C'mon, tell me." Sharpay urged.

Gabriella groaned, "It's about Ryan."

Sharpay groaned, "Crap,"

"I know, right!? I don't know what I'm supposed to do! I like him, and then I don't. He's my friend, and then he's more. I'm going insane!" Gabriella whined,

"Where the hell did this come from? You never spoke a word about this since... the trip to the beach" Sharpay asked,

"I know, I know. It sucks. But when we were in the library and I saw Taylor and Chad act all sweet, I suddenly wished for your brother."

"Well, truthfully, I don't really mind you dating my brother..." Sharpay said,

"Hush!" Gabriella squealed,

Sharpay laughed, "I'm sorry," she said. The bell rang and automatically they started walking towards their next class. They both had Biology next.

"Well, have you ever considered asking him out?" Sharpay suggested as they glided in the halls, so engrossed in their conversation to mind the people rushing around.

"Are you kidding? No way. That will be so embarrassing." Gabriella said,

"Why? There's nothing wrong with asking the guy... and besides, Ryan isn't the type who minds the 'dating rules'," Sharpay clutched her book closer to her chest,

"I know. Your brother isn't like other guys, and that's what makes him so...special to me. But, I still don't have the guts to do such thing," Gabriella said,

They reached their classroom then; the students were beginning to fill their seats. Their desks were shared by two people. Sharpay sat with Ryan, and Gabriella sat with Troy; but every now and then, they would switch places.

"Come on, I'm sure you can! Just make sure you can still talk, 'cause you have a habit of losing your tongue midsentence" Sharpay teased.

She was already seated on her seat; the chair next to her was still empty; Gabriella, on the other hand, sat behind Sharpay's and Ryan's desk, the other chair empty as well. Meaning: Troy and Ryan were running late. As usual.

"Shut up! I'm already nervous enough" Gabriella said as she buried her face on the desk, arms folded.

"And what seems to be the problem here?" Gabriella heard an all too familiar voice,

Her head shot up and saw Ryan looking at her with concern,

"Oh, don't worry about her, she's just stressed" Sharpay said as she played with her fingers.

"Hmm... that's a new one. She's always bright and happy," Ryan said, sending a smile in Gabriella's direction.

Gabriella smiled back. They held their gazes for, in Sharpay's opinion, a long time.

"Um," Sharpay broke the silence, "I totally forgot about something... I need to discuss with Troy. So, umm... Ryan, you don't mind changing seats with him for today, now, do you?" Sharpay asked, smiling at Gabriella.

When Ryan removed his gaze on her, Gabriella immediately smiled and nodded furiously at Sharpay. Her curly brown locks bouncing.

"No, of course I don't." Ryan said as he took his books and walked to the seat next to Gabriella,

"Thank you" Sharpay slyly said. She turned her head around, giving them the privacy they deserve.

After a few moments, Troy suddenly ran inside. Relief washed through his face when he saw that the teacher's desk was still empty.

Glancing at his seat, he saw Ryan and Gabriella chatting. No more questions asked about that. He would sit with Sharpay.

"Hey" he greeted as he sat down casually next to her,

"Hey" she replied, "running late, I see" she added with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, time totally flew by for me." Troy said as he ran a hand through his hair.

Sharpay found herself staring. Truthfully, she wouldn't have noticed that she was if it wasn't for Troy's eyebrows suddenly rising.

She looked away sheepishly.

Neither could say another word to each other. Their biology teacher just walked in looking as cranky as he's ever been.

"Alright, class... today we will discuss about plants' response to stimuli" He said.

Sharpay and Gabriella grew a smirk; both thinking how ironically coincidental biology class is.

**Author's Note: I finally updated! I'm so sorry for not updating so soon! I'm really working hard with my studies that I don't even have time to update. But, I still found the time to finish this chapter. I hope you enjoy and leave a review! :-) I'M SO SORRY! **

**With Hearts, **

**LA2021~**


End file.
